Posts Tagged Asia
SSTL and ZTE sign seven-year infrastructure deal (India)
Indian cellco Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL) has announced that it has inked a seven-year deal with China’s ZTE for the provision of network equipment and infrastructure. Under the agreement ZTE will provide wireless and core network equipment for SSTL as the cellco looks to complete its pan-India rollout by 3Q 2010. Additionally, the two companies will ‘explore other collaborative possibilities going forward’. No financial details of the deal have been disclosed. SSTL has launched commercial CDMA-based services in the Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala circles.
1 comment May 15, 2009
Bharti Airtel reaches 100 mln mobile customers mark (India)
Add comment May 15, 2009
SingTel’s mobile customer base reaches 249m (Singapore)
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) says it added 64 million net new customers (+35%) in the year to 31 March 2009, to take its combined regional mobile customer base to 249 million. The group’s aggregate mobile customer base in all eight markets – Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – grew 7.3%, or 17 million on a sequential quarterly basis despite the intense competition in the markets and the slowdown in the economies. Meanwhile, the proportionate mobile customer base rose 33% from a year ago or 7% from a quarter ago, it said.
SingTel’s regional associates continued to post double-digit customer growth of between 10% and 52% compared to a year ago. Bharti, India’s number one mobile phone operator by subscribers, posted the biggest jump in customers: its mobile base reached 93.9 million customers as at 31 March 2009, an increase of 52% from a year ago or 9.7% on a quarterly basis. Indonesian cellco Telkomsel increased its base by 41% or 20.8 million from a year ago, and added 6.8 million new customers in 1Q09 alone, and grew its market share by three percentage points to 49% by end-March. Thailand and the Philippines, classed as ‘more mature markets’ by SingTel, also posted strong mobile customer additions. AIS in Thailand added 2.5 million mobile subscribers, up 10%, while Globe added 4.5 million mobile customers or 21% more than a year ago. In Pakistan, Warid grew its total customer base by three million to 17.4 million, an increase of 21% from a year ago. PBTL’s total mobile customer base in Bangladesh was 1.9 million, an increase of 315,000, or 20% on 1Q08. Elsewhere, Australian subsidiary Optus’ mobile customer base expanded 9.1% from a year ago to 7.79 million as at 31 March 2009.
In its home market, SingTel extended its market share and leadership position in the mobile segment it said, adding 405,000 new customers, or 16% more from a year ago, bringing its total mobile customer base to 2.98 million and extending its market share to 46.4% as at 31 March 2009, an increase of three percentage points from a year ago. A total of 34,000 new mobile customers were added during the quarter, of which 22,000 were post-paid net additions. Demand for 3G services continued to remain strong, with 72,000 subscribers added. As at 31 March 2009, SingTel’s total 3G mobile subscriber base reached 1.21 million, it said.
Add comment May 13, 2009
Softbank tops mobile additions table for 24th month running (Japan)
Softbank Mobile added more new users than its rivals for the 24th month running in April, aided in part from a price reduction on the Apple iPhone 3G. Data published by the Telecommunications Carriers Association (TCA) of Japan showed that Softbank added a net 105,400 contracts last month, keeping its nose just ahead of fourth-placed eMobile with a net gain of 102,800. The TCA said eMobile’s performance was buoyed by the bundling of a low-priced mobile personal computer and a datacard, which attracted both business and residential customers. Market leader DoCoMo took third spot with a net gain of 89,300 and au-branded KDDI Corp gained 57,500. PHS operator Willcom meanwhile, reported a net decrease of 10,600.
Add comment May 13, 2009
SingTel: regional mobile base tops 232m at end-December
Southeast Asia’s largest telecommunications group, Singapore Telecom (SingTel), today reported that its aggregate regional mobile subscriber base stood at 232 million as at 31 December 2008, up 7.3% on a quarterly basis, and a 35% increase year-on-year. Despite stiff competition and the deepening global economic gloom, SingTel reported that each of its six mobile associates in the region – Thailand’s Advanced Info Service (AIS), India’s Bharti Airtel, Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Indonesia’s Telkomsel, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (PBTL) and Pakistan’s Warid Telecom – posted double-digit subscriber growth ranging from 13% to 55% when compared to the same time at end-2007. Of these, India’s Bharti posted the single biggest jump in subscriber numbers to 85.65 million, up from 55.16 million as at 31 December 2007, SingTel said. The group’s wholly owned Ozzie unit Optus posted a 0.9% rise in mobile users over the year to 7.63 million, while in its home market SingTel had 2.94 million cellular customers, up 26% y-o-y. The Singaporean business also reported sustained demand for the Apple iPhone 3G device which helped push its domestic 3G mobile base up to 1.14 million, and 2.33 million for Optus in Australia.
Add comment February 9, 2009
Roshan ends 2008 with 3 million subs (Afghanistan)
Afghani cellco Telecom Development Company Afghanistan (known locally as Roshan), has announced that it has signed up its three millionth subscriber, reaffirming its position as the largest network operator in the country by users. In the last six months of 2008 Roshan added a million new active subscribers, which it claims is a result of its streamlined tariff structures, innovative services and expanded coverage; Roshan now reaches over 226 cities and towns across 33 of 34 provinces, covering 56% of the population. ‘Since its inception, Roshan has been committed to connecting the people of Afghanistan to each other and the world, which means providing choices that meet individual needs and aspirations,’ said Altaf Ladak, chief operating officer at Roshan. ‘The support and trust of Roshan customers has played a pivotal role in growing the Roshan family of subscribers to three million.’
Add comment February 5, 2009
PCCW shareholders approve buyout, subject to probe; confirms job cuts (Hong Kong)
PCCW’s minority shareholders yesterday approved a proposal to take the Hong Kong-based telco private, but the securities regulator will launch an investigation following allegations of vote-buying, reports Bloomberg. PCCW’s largest shareholder, chairman Richard Li, and major stakeholder China Netcom (part of China Unicom) offered HKD15.9 billion (USD2.05 billion), or HKD4.50 per share, for the remaining 52% of PCCW, and the offer was supported by more than 75% of stockholders. The deal requires High Court approval before the shares are delisted, and a hearing is set for 24 February. The Securities & Futures Commission immediately took possession of the voting records and will start investigating the buyout process, following allegations that insurance agents were offered stock in return for supporting the proposal. PCCW said it has ‘no knowledge of any improper share transfers.’ PCCW’s shares have lost 97% of their value since Li took control of the former Cable & Wireless HKT in 2000. The company has a market capitalisation of USD3.6 billion based on yesterday’s share price. The fixed line, broadband, mobile and TV operator saw its first-half net profits slump by 20% last year.
In other news PCCW yesterday confirmed that it plans to implement measures to cut its costs by up to 30%, including redundancies, but declined to divulge the potential number of jobs that will be lost. Union staff had earlier alleged that the group planned to lay off 600 employees, or around 5% of its workforce. PCCW has increased its staff total by 40% to 17,000 in the last four years.
Add comment February 5, 2009
Mobile, internet operations drive NTT 9M profits
Japanese behemoth Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) today reported a 70% jump in net profits for the period April-December 2008, fuelled by solid growth at its fixed line internet business and mobile division NTT DoCoMo. The Tokyo-based telco said profit for the period under review climbed to JPY544.08 billion (USD6.5 billion), up from JPY322.22 billion in the corresponding period of 2007. Group revenues fell from JPY7.84 trillion to JPY7.73 trillion, although operating profit rose by 16% from JPY874.38 billion to JPY1.01 trillion. NTT has maintained its full year outlook of net profits of JPY560 billion on sales of JPY10.6 trillion, for the twelve months to 31 March 2009.
Add comment February 5, 2009
Softbank 3Q profit up 2%; maintains full-year outlook
Japanese telecoms group Softbank Corp has reported a 2% rise in third-quarter operating profit as a result of its decision to lower voice call charges and reduce handset subsidies, but stuck to its forecast for modest full-year growth of 4.8% to JPY340 billion (USD3.8 billion). In the three months ended 31 December 2008 Softbank posted operating profit of JPY94.7 billion, up 2% year-on-year from JPY92.4 billion profit previously. The operator said its results were bolstered by strong performances from its fixed line operation and at Yahoo Japan Corp, in which Softbank has a 41% stake. On the results, Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son said: ‘The impact of discounts was still big until December, but since more and more people will come out of their 24-month payment period from now on, we can expect big profit growth … The actual operations are improving strongly.’
Add comment February 5, 2009
China- PHS networks to make way for TD-SCDMA
According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Telecom and China Netcom (now part of China Unicom) have been ordered to close their XiaoLingTong (XLT, or Little Smart) PHS networks so as to clear the spectrum for the use of TD-SCDMA, the Chinese homegrown 3G standard. The low-cost PHS service grew rapidly following its launch in 1998, claiming more than 100 million subscribers at its peak. Its popularity prompted cellular operators China Mobile and China Unicom to slash prices, resulting in a fall in XLT users to 68.9 million at the end of 2008.
Add comment February 4, 2009
UQ Communications soft launches mobile Wimax (Japan)
Japanese Wimax operator UQ Communications plans a soft launch of its mobile Wimax (IEEE 802.16e) service called ‘UQ Wimax’ this month. UQ will test the services in all 23 wards of Tokyo, in Yokohama, and Kawasaki, and is seeking 5,000 trial users. The company will officially launch nation-wide services at the start of July this year. Intel will provide the company with embedded Wimax devices, including Intel Centrino 2 processor-based notebooks and Intel Atom processor-based netbooks in the coming months. UQ Communications will offer flat-rate plans, with the basic plan starting at JPY 4,480 per month.
Add comment February 4, 2009
Globe reports strong Q4 revenues, but full-year net profits down 15%
The Philippines’ second largest telecoms group by subscribers, Globe Telecom, a subsidiary of Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp and Singapore Telecom (SingTel), recorded its highest quarterly revenue performance in the three months ended 31 December 2008, with service revenues of PHP16.3 billion (USD343.3 million), up 5% quarter-on-quarter and surpassing the previous record of PHP16.1 billion – booked in the fourth quarter of 2007. The operator said the strong quarterly performance was driven by strong holiday demand and the positive impact of new mobile and broadband offers it launched in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, Globe’s full-year net income for 2008 was PHP11.28 billion, down 15% from PHP13.28 billion a year earlier, on twelve-month service revenues of PHP62.89 billion (PHP63.21 billion in 2007) and EBITDA of PHP37.40 billion (PHP40.22 billion).
In the three months to 31 December 2008 Globe Telecom maintained its momentum in terms of wireless subscriber acquisitions by adding one million SIMs, to end the year with a total subscriber base of 24.7 million, up 22% from a year ago. The company said its mass market brand, TM, led the growth, accounting for 70% of the total 4.4 million net additions recorded in 2008, bringing in more than three million new TM users. In addition, Globe said the popularity of its broadband services, and in particular wireless broadband, continued apace. The operator added a net 55,000 users in the fourth quarter – more than the total for the previous three quarters combined – to close out 2008 with a broadband subscriber base of 234,000, almost double the end-2007 figure. The continued expansion of broadband and corporate data services helped offset a slowdown in wireless revenues which declined by 1% to PHP55.6 billion from the previous year’s PHP56.4 billion, while wireline revenues improved by 7% to PHP7.3 billion from PHP6.8 billion in 2007.
Add comment February 3, 2009
SoftBank, eMobile close to brokering network deal (Japan)
The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that SoftBank Mobile and eMobile have entered the final stages of negotiations over a tie-up in wireless data communications services in Japan. According to people familiar with the situation, if the deal goes ahead, Softbank Mobile, the country’s third largest mobile operator by subscribers, plans to introduce a flat-rate system for the services, using eMobile’s network. Softbank is looking to launch the new offer in spring 2009 – marking the first mobile virtual network operator deal between telecoms companies in Japan. The tie-up will allow both companies to take on bigger rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI in the hotly contested domestic market. In addition, Softbank Mobile plans to boost data-transmission speeds and set the rate for the service close to JPY4,980 (USD55.58) – similar to a two-year deal being proposed by eMobile and the lowest in the Japanese mobile sector.
Add comment February 3, 2009
Pakistan- New SOP for issuance, activation of SIMs begins
The Pakistan Observer is reporting that the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), requiring user verification before any SIM card is activated, has been officially implemented. Under the new SOP in order to obtain a new SIM card subscribers will first be required to provide a national identity card and complete a service agreement form. After this they will receive a non-activated SIM, and in order to activate it will be required to call a specified number from using the SIM and answer questions verifying the data they had provided. The new regulations have been introduced as the government and the regulator look to limit the use of mobile phones in anti-social activities.
Add comment February 2, 2009
MTNL 3Q 2008 results reveals drop in net profit, revenue (India)
State-owned Indian telco Mahanagar Telecom Nigam ltd (MTNL) has reported financial results for the three months ended 31 December 2008, revealing a drop in net profit to INR583 million (USD11.9 million) from INR942 million in 2007. The fall has been attributed to the merger of 50% of dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay, leading to staffing costs increasing from INR4.33 billion to INR5.89 billion. Revenue for the operator meanwhile fell by 4.5% to INR11.3 billion. During the quarter MTNL increased its wireless subscribers by 222,079, bringing its total to 3.89 million, while customers taking broadband services from the telco rose by 42,379 to 645,784.
Add comment February 2, 2009
TDF to fund rural wireless coverage (Afghanistan)
The Afghani administration has revealed how it plans to spend the Telecom Development Fund (TDF), mainly on the expansion of wireless and landline services in underserved rural areas. According to the terms of Afghani GSM licences, cellcos are required to pay 2.5% of their net revenues into the TDF; to date the fund has accumulated around USD26 million. Five rural provinces – Badakhshan, Paktika, Zabul, Daikundi, and Nooristan – will be among the first to benefit from the fund.
Add comment January 30, 2009
DoCoMo’s nine-month profits up 16%, announces 2G shutdown March 2012
Japan’s mobile market leader by subscribers NTT DoCoMo recorded net profit for the nine months to the end of December 2008 of JPY437.7 billion (USD4.86 billion), up 16% from a year earlier, whilst operating income rose 19% year-on-year to JPY746.8 billion, despite revenues falling 4% to JPY3.38 trillion. The bottom-line improvement was partly attributed to handset sales and reduced churn. As of 31 December, the company had 54.16 million subscribers, up 220,000 from three months earlier. DoCoMo maintained its forecast for its fiscal year ending March, with a predicted net income of JPY495 billion, operating profit of JPY830 billion and JPY4.6 trillion in total sales.
DoCoMo also announced that it will terminate its 2G ‘Mova’ mobile service on 31 March 2012. At the end of 2008, around 88% of its total subscribers were on its 3G network. The remaining 6.7 million will be offered incentives to transfer from the legacy PDC (Personal Digital Communications) platform to W-CDMA/HSPA technology.
Add comment January 30, 2009
Telkomsel gets new boss as price war toughens (Indonesia)
Shareholders of PT Telekomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel), the nation’s largest cellular operator, introduced Thursday Sarwoto Atmosutarno as the company’s new president director replacing Kiskenda Suriahardja.
Sarwoto moves on from his post as executive general manager of the infrastructure division for Telkomsel’s parent state-run PT Telkom, the nation’s largest telecom firm. Telkomsel is 65 percent owned by publicly listed Telkom, while the remaining 35 percent is owned by Singapore Telecom Mobile Pte Ltd.
“My priority will be to improve the quality of our voice and broadband products by expanding network and bandwidth. This is to keep up with the current stiff competition,” Sarwoto told The Jakarta Post Thursday after the inauguration.
“I will also take advantage of the market community of both Telkom and Telkomsel customers, and leverage synergy between the companies to boost efficiency.”
The replacement of Telkomsel’s chief was made without going through the regular shareholder’s meeting, amid the company’s losing price war against rivals that sent its profits plunging by 7 percent during the first nine months of last year to Rp 9.7 trillion (US$858 million) from Rp 9.08 trillion in the same period of 2007 despite a 36 percent jump in subscribers to 60.5 million, or a 46 percent market share.
Telkomsel is the operator of Kartu Halo, Simpati and Kartu As. This year, Kartu Halo’s call rate fell 30 percent, Simpati’s by 47 percent and Kartu AS’s by 25 percent.
“We are going to see the price war more wisely. That’s why we’re going to focus on improving our service (rather) than getting drowned with our rivals in cutting the call rates,” said Sarwoto, who is a Telkom career official dealing mostly with satellite technology.
Indonesia is home to 11 GSM and CDMA-based cellular phone operators, backed by international giants including Qatar Telecom, Telekom Malaysia, Saudi Telecom, and Hutchison Telecommunications International.
Telkomsel’s former president director Kiskenda, who was on the post since 2005, said in November last year that the company had been more supportive of the public by providing cheaper call rates than to the shareholders by slapping on higher rates to earn more profits. “This is the consequence (of the cheap rate), which eventually (has) trimmed our profit,” said Kiskenda in his defense over Telkomsel’s slumped first nine months profits.
Add comment January 30, 2009
NTT Docomo grows nine-month net income 16%
Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo reported revenues for the nine months to December of JPY 3.38 trillion, down 4.1 percent from JPY 3.52 trillion in the year-earlier period. Service revenues fell 8.8 percent to JPY 2.79 trillion. However, operating income rose 19.5 percent to JPY 746.8 billion, and net income totalled JPY 437.7 billion, up 16.3 percent from JPY 376.5 billion in year-ago period. Docomo ended December with 54.16 million subscribers, 87.7 percent of which are Foma subscribers. Churn in third quarter improved to 0.44 percent from 0.74 percent a year earlier, reflecting the effect of the new discount programmes and handset instalment plans. Blended ARPU was JPY 5,820 in the nine-month period, versus JPY 6,470 a year earlier. For the full year, Docomo maintained its forecast of JPY 4.59 trillion in revenues, operating income of JPY 830 billion, and a net income of JPY 495 billion.
Add comment January 30, 2009
GoM next to tackle 3G auction proposals (India)
In news that will surprise nobody the auction process for 3G spectrum in India looks set to meet with further delays. The delays are likely following the revelation that the Cabinet Committee tasked with making a decision on policies formulated by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has referred the proposals to the Group of Ministers (GoM). India’s Economic Times reports that the latest move in the policy merry-go-round could see the auction process delayed indefinitely. It has been argued that one of the additional benefits for passing the matter to the GoM, which is headed by AK Antony, is that they can open discussions with the defence forces regarding the vacating of 3G frequencies. The auctions had originally been due to take place on 16 January, but were subsequently pushed back to 30 January.
Add comment January 29, 2009
USD250 million equity investment for Warid Telecom (Pakistan)
The Pakistan Observer is reporting that mobile operator Warid Telecom has received equity investment of USD250 million from its joint shareholders, the Abu Dhabi Group and SingTel. Warid, launched commercial services in May 2005, is likely to use the funds to further expand its network coverage. At the end of December 2008 the cellco claimed it had coverage in over 450 cities and 7,200 towns across the country, offering services over its GSM-based infrastructure. Tariq Gulzar, Warid’s chief financial officer said of the announcement, ‘This equity injection…demonstrates the confidence reposed by our shareholders in the company’s ability to continue to provide highest level of quality services to our valued subscribers at very affordable prices. We are going to further enhance our technical and retail network across the country to exceed the expectations of our existing and potential subscribers’.
1 comment January 29, 2009
TRAI proposes more players in CDMA 3G (India)
TRAI want DoT to bring in atleast two operators for 3G services in the CDMA space in opposition to the current situation which has only one 3G operator being offered a 3G spectrum. The DoT present policy guidelines which only offers a single 3G block for CDMA operators.
“The authority understands that it is perhaps possible to identify more than one carrier in the 800-MHz band. It is all the more imperative as there are more than two access service providers in this category of technology for competition. Therefore, the authority recommends DoT may explore more than one block in the 800-MHz band for CDMA 3G services,” said Trai in a communication to DoT.
Trai also proposed that the base price for CDMA operators should be 25% of that of the GSM players.
Add comment January 29, 2009
First SIMpass-enabled Mobile Phone Launched in China
China Unicom has launched a mobile phone based payment service in the city of Chongqing which enables users to use their phone to pay for transport tickets and at various retailer for normal purchases. The ‘Cqpass’ is a multi-system mobile payment service first to use the SIMpass enabled custom-made mobile phone that was unveiled in Chongqing last month. SIMpass is a Single Card Near Field Communication (SC-NFC) platform. The custom-made mobile phone for this service is developed under the cooperation between China Unicom, Chongqing Yucheng Transportation Card, Guohong Telecom and Digital Group and Watchdata that provided the SIMpass technology.
The Cqpass mobile payment service has all the functions similar to the regular Yucheng Tong Card and can be used to pay for bus rides, cable car rides, hotels, parks entrance and restaurants. Apart from these functionalities, it also features transaction record query and card number display.In 2009, the project will start the development of its second stage of application that would link the subscriber’s bank account to enable the OTA top-up functionality.
Add comment January 29, 2009
China Unicom selects W-CDMA vendors
According to The South China Post, five firms have won significant contracts from China Unicom in the tender for the deployment of W-CDMA infrastructure. The winners have been announced as Huawei, Ericsson, ZTE, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent all winning a share of the spoils. The results were released in the form of percentages awarded to various equipment suppliers: Huawei, which has a partnership with Motorola, was the largest winner with a 30.6% share of the 70,000 base station deployment; Ericsson which partners Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies and Guangzhou New Postcom Equipment won a 26.5% share; ZTE won 21.5%; Nokia Siemens Networks 11.1%; and Alcatel-Shanghai Bell 10.2%.
China Unicom plans to deploy 3G networks in 55 cities in the first half of this year, spending RMB30 billion (USD4.39 billion), and 280 cities by the end of 2009, at a cost of RMB60 billion. The firm is targeting the completion of the first flagship city networks by 17 April and the first commercial network launches on 17 May 2009, the paper says.
1 comment January 28, 2009
Decision on 3G auction to be taken on 5 February
Thailand’s telecoms regulator told reporters this morning that it expects to stick to its rough timetable of issuing private companies with 3G UMTS mobile licences in the 2100MHz frequency band by the third quarter of this year, according to Reuters. Settaporn Kusripitak, one of the seven members of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), indicated that an auction of four licences remained the most probable method of awarding the concessions, but the decision on whether this will go ahead will be made on 5 February. The NTC has also scheduled issuing WiMAX wireless broadband licences by mid-year.
Add comment January 28, 2009
KTF profits surge up by 92% year-on-year for 4Q 2008
South Korean mobile operator KT Freetel Corp (KFT) has reported its financial results for the three months ended 31 December 2008, reporting its largest profit increase in more than three years. Net income for the three-month period rose to KRW101.9 billion (USD73.6 million), up 92% year-on-year. KTF attributed the impressive result to a lessening of promotional expenses as completion in the wireless sector eased. Revenue for the three-month period also rose, climbing 4.5% y-o-y to KRW1.53 trillion, while revenue for the full year was up 7.4% at KRW5.98 trillion. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose by 19.9% compared to the same time a year earlier. KTF has said it expects the growth in earnings to continue in 2009 as spending on handset subsidies and incentives decreases, following efforts to lock new customers into longer terms contracts. It has said that approximately 37% of its customer base is now locked into contracts. It reported customer additions of 1.46 million over the final quarter of the year, bringing its total to 14.37 million.
Add comment January 28, 2009
SingTel teams with Riverbed to accelerate WAN development
In a joint press release, Riverbed Technology and Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) have announced they will collaborate to provide the telco’s Traffic Optimisation and Profiling Service Application Accelerator (TOPS AA) service using Riverbed’s Wide Area Networks (WAN) optimisation solutions. The Singaporean operator’s TOPS AA product is designed to speed up data delivery over WANs, and in the process improve the performance and speed of corporate applications such as e-mail, data back-up, Web browsing, document sharing and management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM), Riverbed said. The new solution will be fully managed by SingTel, and will be offered with the option of utility-based pricing to allow users to avoid heavy upfront investments, yet provide scalability to meet future business growth.
Add comment January 28, 2009
BRIC Economies to Experience Strong Mobile User Growth, Reaching 1.64bn by 2013
The increasing availability of broadband-enabled mobile networks, aided by falling prices of sophisticated handsets and data charges, will underpin continued strong growth in mobile phone usage in Brazil, Russia, India and China (collectively referred to as the BRIC markets), from 1.21 billion in 2008 to 1.64 billion by 2013, according to a report published by Juniper Research.
Aided by the existing strong mutual interdependence and trading partnerships between these four countries – which are tapped to become the largest economies in the world by 2050 – this growth in mobile services uptake will be able to defy the general economic slowdown and recession that is already affecting other markets and regions arguably more exposed to fluctuating capital market conditions.
Add comment January 28, 2009
KTF Q4 Net Nearly Doubles on Reduced Costs
KTF, Korea’s second-biggest mobile carrier, said Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings almost doubled from a year earlier thanks largely to reduced marketing costs.
Net income stood at 101.9 billion won (US$73.7 million) in the October-December period, compared with 53.1 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The bottom line was also up 38.5 percent from three months earlier. Sales rose 0.4 percent on-year to 1.95 trillion won and operating profit soared 60.9 percent to 207.7 billion won, it said.
For all of 2008, however, net profit tumbled 32.6 percent on-year to 164.6 billion won due to increased marketing expenses and investment. Sales climbed 14.4 percent to 8.35 trillion won with operating income rising 3.1 percent to 454.4 billion won. Shares of KTF rose 0.6 percent to 30,150 won as of 2:13 p.m. on the Seoul bourse.
KTF attributed the improved fourth-quarter net to lower marketing costs. The company said its marketing costs fell 8 percent on-year to 394.7 billion won last quarter.
As of end-December, KTF had 14.4 million customers, up 4.7 percent from a year earlier. The company painted a gloomy outlook for this year, saying sales will remain sluggish due to weak demand and severe competition.
As the nation’s telecom market becomes increasingly saturated, companies are trying to promote combined fixed and mobile services to cut costs and woo customers from rivals.
Last week, KTF announced a plan to merge with its parent company KT, which is South Korea’s top fixed-line and Internet service provider. The plan is subject to approval by the telecom regulator and shareholders. South Korea boasts of a high mobile phone penetration rate with more than nine out of 10 people owning a cellular phone.
Add comment January 28, 2009
Nokia launches ‘premium’ mobile service (Japan)
Nokia of Finland has launched a ‘premium’ mobile service in Japan using its high-end Vertu handset brand as a platform and piggybacking on NTT DoCoMo’s network to provide MVNO services to customers. The world’s biggest handset maker says the new service will be run by Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) as a managed service, allowing the MVNO to introduce value added services (VAS) without the need to invest in its own software, equipment, human resources and skills.
In November 2008 Nokia announced it was withdrawing from the Japanese mobile handset market, blaming the decision on its inability to make inroads in a country that heavily favours locally-developed technologies. However, the vendor said at the time it would continue to market its high-end, niche mobile phone Vertu. The announcement came just days after CommsUpdate reported that Nokia had revealed plans to enter the mobile market in Japan this year through an MVNO partnership with DoCoMo.
Add comment January 27, 2009
Piltel considers 3G launch (Philippines)
Pilipino Telephone Corp (Piltel), a unit of mobile operator Smart Communications which is itself owned by Filipino powerhouse Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT), is mulling plans to enter the highly competitive domestic 3G market. Piltel has reportedly sent a letter to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), stating its interest in securing the fifth and final 3G frequency bandwidth. The NTC has reserved bands 1965MHz-1975MHz, 2155MHz-2165MHz and 1890MHz-1900MHz/1970MHz-1980MHz and Piltel is keen to use this spectrum to roll out Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology in the medium term. ‘Piltel will adapt the LTE technology to upgrade its existing network capacity and capabilities to enable the delivery of richer and more compelling services,’ said Piltel regulatory and telecom industry relations head Roy Ibay. LTE Release 1 operates in the 1920MHz-1980MHz/2110MHz-2170MHz, which coincides with the remaining 3G frequency band available, he added.
Add comment January 27, 2009
Chunghwa profit slips 6% (Taiwan)
Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom has reported net income of TWD45.33 billion (USD1.37 billion) for 2008, down 6% from TWD48.25 billion the year before. Revenues for the year rose just 0.3% to TWD186.8 billion. The results have still to be audited.
Add comment January 27, 2009
DoT opens bids for MNP implementation (India)
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has begun the process to introduce mobile number portability (MNP), inviting bids from interested companies. The DoT has stated that it is looking for companies with previous experience in implementing MNP systems, and the submission deadline has been set as 6 February 2009. A list of pre-qualified bidders will be released on 16 February, with selected companies then asked to present their plans for rollout on 23 and 24 February. The winner will be announced on 5 March. The regulator has reiterated that the charge for the service will be decided by the Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The TRAI had set a charge of between INR200 (USD4.07) and INR300 (USD6.10) in 2006, but it is understood that a new fee will be decided before the service is launched. The government had initially expected MNP to be introduced in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai by the end of 2008. If the new deadlines are met as planned it is expected that the service may be introduced within the first half of 2009.
Add comment January 27, 2009
SK Telecom’s net profit surges while KT reports net loss for 4Q (South Korea)
South Korean operators SK Telecom (SKT) and KT Corp (KT) have both reported financial results for the three months ended 31 December 2008, with SK Telecom coming out on top as it revealed a massive jump in net profit of almost 398% to KRW263.1 billion (USD191.5 million), up from KRW66 billion a year earlier. The impressive result was widely attributed to a fall in marketing costs. Operating profit for SKT also rose, up 50.9% to KRW468.8 billion, while revenues for the period increased 3.1% year-on-year to KRW3 trillion. Despite the strong quarter SKT’s full year figures showed a fall in net profit over the twelve month period to KRW1.6 trillion, a fall of 22.2%. High marketing expenses earlier in 2008, coupled with high levels of investment, which totalled KRW5 trillion, were cited as the reason for the fall over the year. For the twelve month period revenues increased 3.4% to KRW11.6 trillion. SKT reported that at the end of December 2008 it had 23.03 million subscribers, up 5% from same date in 2007.
Citing heavy currency related losses due to a weak won, results for KT for the fourth quarter were less impressive, as it registered a net loss for the period of KRW26.6 billion, the first quarterly loss for the operator in five years. The operator has also blamed the migration of fixed line customers to alternative VoIP-based services as another contributory factor to the loss. Revenues for the three-month period were also down year-on-year, falling 4% to KRW2.88 trillion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 7% y-o-y to KRW750.4 billion. KT’s fixed line subscriber base fell to 19.9 million, a drop of approximately 750,000 over three months.
Add comment January 23, 2009
KDDI reports solid rise in 3Q profit, maintains growth forecast (Japan)
Japan’s second largest telecoms group by subscribers KDDI Corp posted operating profits of JPY143.8 billion (USD1.6 billion) for its fiscal third-quarter ended 31 December 2008, up from JPY121.4 billion in the corresponding year earlier period. The operator said the strong growth in profit was the result of lower handset subsidies which counteracted an anticipated slowdown in handset sales; KDDI has maintained its full-year growth forecast despite the global downturn.
Unlike many other telecoms companies that have cut their outlooks in recent months, KDDI has remained strong thanks to the introduction of a new business model that allowed it to cut the costly subsidies it pays to retailers. However, KDDI president Tadashi Onodera has warned that poor handset sales and rising costs have already forced it to up its subsidies and in some cases, sell older handset models for next to nothing as the impact of the economic recession increases. ‘Corporate customers who use phones just for talking have usually been first to cut their usage when the economy turns bad,’ the president told a press briefing. ‘Not only can we not get new subscriptions, but also the chance of service cancellations is not zero.’ Nonetheless, KDDI, reaffirmed its forecast for a JPY443 billion profit in the full year to 31 March 2009, up 10.6% year-on-year, but below a consensus forecast of JPY469 billion in a poll of 18 analysts by Reuters Estimates.
KDDI said its revenue in the period under review dropped 2.4% year-on-year to JPY882.4 billion due to lower average revenue per user (ARPU) and falling handset sales. The dip in revenues surprised the company which had expected to see the positive impact on revenues of new subscriber additions offsetting the drop in ARPU. KDDI has trimmed its FY2008/09 revenue target by 5% to JPY3.5 trillion and cut its target for cellphone sales by nearly 25% to 10.9 million units.
Add comment January 23, 2009
Idea Cellular revenue up 13.9 pct (India)
Idea Cellular Limited (Idea) announced its unaudited results (limited review) for the 3rd quarter (Q3) and nine months ended December 31, 2008.
Revenues for Idea’s 13 operating service areas for Q3 at Rs. 26,209 mn, grew by 13.9% on a QoQ basis and by 53.2% on a YoY basis.
The EBITDA for the 11 Idea service areas in Q3 enhanced to Rs 7,570 mn compared to Rs 6,446 mn in Q2, representing a margin improvement from 28.1% to 29.4%. However, Q3 captures the impact of Mumbai and Bihar launches for the entire quarter, whereas Q2 had the impact only of Mumbai for 5 weeks. Consequently, Total EBITDA margin declined marginally from 26.4% to 26.0%, even though Total EBITDA increased by 11.9% from Rs 6081 mn in Q2 to Rs 6,805 mn in Q3.
On a consolidated basis, Revenues for Q3 at Rs. 27,311 mn, grew by 18.5% on a QoQ basis. The EBITDA at Rs 6,974 mn showed a growth of 14.9% on a QoQ basis. Consolidated PAT for Q3 was Rs 2,195 mn as against Rs 2,562 mn on a standalone basis. The consolidated PAT is depressed by Rs 367 mn on account of the consolidation of Idea’s 41.09% shareholding in Spice Communications from 16th Oct 08 and on account of Idea group’s 16% shareholding in Indus Towers.
On 5th Dec 08, an affiliate of Providence Equity Partners has invested Rs. 21 bn in Aditya Birla Telecom Limited (ABTL) by way of subscription to 1.925 mn Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares to be converted into 16.14% of equity share capital of ABTL post conversion.
Idea, including service areas of Punjab, Karnataka and Bihar, added 4.03 mn subscribers during Q3 taking its subscriber tally to 38.01 mn, reflecting a national market share of 11.0%.
Idea, along with Spice and ABTL, now holds GSM spectrum for every service area in India.
Add comment January 23, 2009
Airtel to spend $3.5 bn in FY’10 (India)
India’s largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel said on Thursday that it would invest about USD 3.5 billion in the next fiscal in telecom operations and in rolling out passive infrastructure. Bharti also said that it is on track to spend the same amount in the current fiscal.
“On mobile telecom operations-side the investment would be about USD 2-2.5 billion and the tower business-side between Bharti Infratel and Indus we should be spending between 2.5 and USD 3 billion in FY10. But in Indus (which is a tower tripartite venture of Vodafone Essar, Idea and Bharti) we have 42 per cent share so the exact investment in the tower business will come down to USD one billion making it the same as last year’s capex of USD 3.5 billion,” Bharti Enterprises MD Akhil Gupta said in New Delhi.
Overall capital expenditure will be USD 3.5 billion ballpark, but we will know the exact amount by the end of the next quarter, he said.
He said the company need not raise any funding for mobile operations but in the tower companies — Bharti Infratel and Indus — there will be a need to raise debt to fund the expansion.
While Indus has 93,000 towers, Bharti Infratel, which is a wholly-owned business of Bharti Enterprises, has 30,000 towers. Overall, Bharti’s share comes to 61,000 towers on a proportionate basis as it holds 42 per cent in Indus towers.
“Both will require debt funding,” he said but did not share the amount saying it is competitive information. Whatever required would be raised on need basis. Our net debt is very low — net debt to equity is just 0.19.”
Gupta ruled out any further stake sale for the moment in Infratel, which already has global investors like KKR, Singapore government’s investment arm, Temasek Holdings and other leading global investors hold about 10 per cent stake in Bharti Infratel.
New York-based private equity (PE) firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co (KKR) has invested USD 250 million (Rs990 crore) in Bharti Infratel Ltd. The arm attracts an enterprise valuation of the company of USD 12.5 billion.
“We raised some money last year from selling Bharti Infratel stakes… there is immediate plan to monetise its assets further,” He said.
He said Bharti did bid for the Iran license and it lost which ultimately went to Etisalat. “Either they were too aggressive or we were too mild,” he said. Bharti Airtel shares were trading at 4.87 per cent higher at Rs 612.
Add comment January 23, 2009
SmarTone boosts upload speed, plans HSPA+ and LTE, shrugs off BWA defeat (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong-based cellco SmarTone-Vodafone on Wednesday switched on an upgrade to its HSPA (HSDPA/HSUPA) mobile broadband network, boosting maximum upload speeds from 2Mbps to 5.76Mbps; the network already supported peak downloads of 14.4Mbps. In its press release, the company said the upgraded service is being provided to existing and new customers free of charge. SmarTone followed up the announcement yesterday with a statement revealing a plan to implement ‘4G’ Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, through the reuse of its existing spectrum, after its failure to win 2.5GHz-2.7GHz spectrum in Hong Kong’s broadband wireless access (BWA) auction. As previously reported in CommsUpdate, the company’s domestic rivals Hutchison (3), PCCW, CSL and China Mobile (Peoples) all won concessions. SmarTone said it ceased to continue with the BWA spectrum auction when the asking price ‘exceeded the cost difference between implementing LTE with new spectrum and implementing LTE on existing spectrum.’ The operator recently announced a pilot of multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technology for maximising performance and bandwidth as part of its upgrade path to higher speeds and greater capacity with both HSPA+ and LTE platforms. HSPA+ can provide speeds of up to 80Mbps while LTE will further increase peak rates to 160Mbps. According to the statement, customers will also benefit from superior in-building coverage through implementation of LTE at the lower frequency spectrum.
Add comment January 23, 2009
HTIL hints at Indonesian exit, report says (Indonesia)
Hutchison Telecom International Limited (HTIL), which operates cellular services in Indonesia through Hutchison CP Telecommunications (Hutchison Telecom Indonesia, or HCPT), its joint venture with CP Group of Indonesia, may exit the market due to what it claims are the ‘complicated regulatory risks’ there, and other negative factors. According to OSK Research which is conducting a review of the country’s wireless market, Hutch believes there ‘is no certainty for foreign players’ and as such, ‘does not want to be part of a possible industry consolidation.’ HTIL operates 2G and 3G services in the country under the brand name 3; it had more than 3.6 million subscribers at the end of September 2008, a market share of 2.8%.
Add comment January 23, 2009
NTT DoCoMo to complete TTSL investment by March 2009 (Japan, India)
According to Bloomberg, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo has said its USD2.7 billion investment in Indian wireline and mobile operator Tata Teleservices (TTSL) will be completed by March 2009. NTT has said that the acquisition of a 26% stake in TTSL has been held up as it awaits approval from local authorities. This is the second delay to the purchase, after it was initially deferred to 8 January by the Japanese cellco, due to the Securities and Exchange Board of India having not approved the transaction.
Add comment January 22, 2009
