LG Confirms Launch of :New L Series Smartphones

LG Electronics has confirmed that it will be unveiling the third generation of its L Series smartphones at the Mobile World Congress MWC 2014

All L Series III models come with Android 4.4 KitKat. Other specifications will be announced at the launch.

They all come with a protective cover -- called Quick Window, which comes in three colors, and is the first cover from LG to be designed specifically for a mid-range smartphone. Quick Window also offers functional benefits beyond just protection from drops and bumps, as the see-through window allows one to see who's calling and check the time without opening the cover.

"In addition to inheriting the refined design aesthetic that is synonymous with LG's premium devices, the L SeriesIII provides an array of user benefits that extend far beyond a simple upgrade," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "We're confident that the L SeriesIII will be a strong volume driver in 3G markets."

Safaricom Bans Mobile Money Agents from Handling Rival Networks Services:

Kenya s Safaricom has been accused of abusing its dominant market power after it barred its mobile money agents from acting on behalf of rival networks at the same time

Both Airtel and Essar Kenya (Yu) had approached mobile money agents offering Safaricom's M-Pesa mobile money service asking them if they wanted to offer the rival services as well.

However, Safaricom has ordered the agents to stick to just one mobile network, theirs.

"By growing our agency network we have demonstrated that there is ample opportunity for our rivals to recruit and invest in their own agents so as to demonstrate their commitment to creating job opportunities for young Kenyans," Safaricom told the Business Daily.

Airtel has taken the matter to the Competition Authority claiming that it is an abuse of market power by the country's largest mobile network.

DTAC to Double 3G Capacity and Launch LTE Network:

Thailand s DTAC has said that it plans to double the capacity of its 3G network this year as it also prepares for a limited LTE launch in April

The company has pledged an investment of THB13 billion (US$400 million) this year as it adds 5,500 new 3G base stations by June. That will take the total to 11,000 base stations operating on its new 2.1Ghz spectrum.

DTAC's CEO, Jon Eddy Abdullah said that he expects the company to have 25 million 3G subscribers this year, or around 70% of its total customer base as the network migrates GSM concession customers to its own network infrastructure.

The aim is for all GSM customers to have migrated to the 3G network by 2015.

He also confirmed the LTE launch will take place in the second-quarter of this year, with around 300 base stations.

The company estimates that 20 percent of its 3G data traffic is currently consumed by customers using LTE-capable smartphones, so the network launch should release additional 3G capacity for the remaining customers.

Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Brings Forward its LTE Network Launch Date:

Taiwan s Chunghwa Telecom has announced that it is bringing forward its LTE network launch by nearly six months

The network had been due to launch towards the end of the year, but will now start services in July, the company announced. It still aims to sign up at least 300,000 customers to the 4G service.

The company is rolling out its network, and aims to deploy 10,000 base stations by the end of 2016, but will have enough by this July to start a limited service.

Chunghwa Telecom was awarded a 4G license last October when it paid US$129 million in the auction.

The network infrastructure is being supplied by Ericsson as the main supplier, alongside NSN who are supplying some of the kit, and upgrading the existing 3G network.

Zambia's Government to Boost Rural Mobile Phone Coverage:

Zambia s government says that it plans to spend US 24 million building more mobile phone towers in rural areas to boost coverage where the networks currently lack services

The project is being carried out by the telecoms regulator, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), and will see the deployment of 169 new telecoms towers.

The project is due to be completed this year, and should see mobile phone coverage expanded to more than 200,000 people currently not served by mobile networks.

The towers will be leased to the mobile networks, who then provide the service direct to customers.

It's estimated that around 5 million people living in rural areas currently lack access to mobile phone coverage.

Bharti Airtel Said to Be Close to Announcing Loop Mobile Purchase:

India s Bharti Airtel is reportedly close to announcing a deal to buy Mumbai based Loop Mobile bringing to an end over a year of speculation about the future of the smaller mobile network

Dubai-based IP Khaitan owns the Mumbai based mobile network and has long been said to be looking for a buyer.

Citing unnamed sources, the Economic Times said that a deal worth around Rs 700 crore, including some Rs 400 crore of debt is likely to be announced within a few days following the latest round of talks between the two companies.

The move is a turn around, as last September, Bharti Airtel denied that it was interested in buying the company.

Although Loop Mobile is the dominant operator in Mumbai with around 3 million customers, it has limited coverage outside the region.

The deal would be primarily a customer base and infrastructure one as Loop Mobile's licenses expire later this year, and it did not win replacement spectrum in the recently concluded auction.

Google Plotting 10Gbps Broadband Service to the Home:

Although Google is currently rolling out a small scale test of a 1Gbps domestic broadband service in the USA it is already looking at a ten fold speed increase in the near future

The Google Fiber service offers speeds of up to 1Gbps, but is only available in the test market of Kansas City, with an expansion planned for the city of Austin.

Speaking at a conference, Google's CFO, Patrick Pichette indicated that the company is already looking at 10Gbps download speeds.

"That's where the world is going. It's going to happen," Pichette told USA Today. It may happen over a decade, but "why wouldn't we make it available in three years? That's what we're working on. There's no need to wait," he added.

However, while the headline speeds are impressive, and ideal for downloading large files, for average browsing, or gaming and live video streaming, it is latency that matters more than raw download speeds.

BlackBerry Adds Voice Calls and Channels for Andoid/iPhone BBM Users:

BlackBerry has announced that it is offering an upgraded version of its BBM app for all three smartphone platforms BlackBerry iOS and Android

Android and iPhone customers will now be able to make free voice calls to BBM contacts over a Wi-Fi or data connection with BBM Voice, as well as access BBM Channels.

In addition, BBM customers on Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones will have more to chat about with fast one-click sharing of photos, documents, voice notes and more.

BBM users will also be able to share their live location for a specified amount of time with other BBM contacts by using location sharing, powered by Glympse, and will have 100 new emoticons available to help them say what's on their mind.

LTE Network Upgrade Completed for The Bahamas:

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company BTC says that it has completed the full commercial launch of the country s only LTE network

LTE services will be available in The Bahamas' four most populated islands this month and then rolled out to the rest of the country. The network upgrade has been undertaken by Huawei.

Geoff Houston, Chief Executive of BTC, said: "The launch of 4G LTE services positions us on a par with the gold standard for mobile data used in the United States. We have invested to meet our commitment to deliver a world class mobile data and voice experience to our customers."

BTC is the exclusive mobile operator in the country which has a population of 319,000 people. The company has has been granted a 15 year licence to provide LTE mobile data services on the 700 megahertz radio frequency.

Nokia Warns 30,000 Jobs at Risk at Indian Factory:

Nokia has appealed to India s Supreme Court for relief after a lower court imposed new conditions on its plans to sell its Indian handset factory to Microsoft

The Delhi High Court had previously said that Nokia could include the Chennai factory to Microsoft as part of the handset division sale, but late last week added new conditions to the sale.

The conditions have been applied as the factory assets had been frozen as part of a tax dispute that Nokia is engaged in with the government. Nokia made a deposit of Rs 2,250 crore against the tax demand to secure the release of the factory.

The transfer of the factory to Microsoft can now be blocked again if the tax authorities raise their tax demand against Nokia.

A Nokia global spokesperson said changes imposed by the court would be detrimental to India's reputation as a stable investment destination.

LG Hints at Smaller Version of its G2 Smartphone:

LG Electronics has dropped a less than subtle hint that it is about to launch another smartphone a mini version of its G2 handset

A photo montage was uploaded to the company's own Facebook account -- so at least we know it's legit for once -- showing off a smaller version of a smartphone sitting next to the G2 model.

The company simply added that potential customers should wait until a further announcement on the 24th February.

The downside of making an announcement then is that it is the middle of a huge trade conference, and there is every chance that the story will be buried under the flood of other announcements on the same day.

Whether the image choice of a cupcake, shoe and starfish is significant remains to be seen.

Google to Block Android App Upgrades That Use AdMob Services:

Google has announced that its own mobile app store Google Play will stop accepting apps that rely on its legacy AdMob platform to serve in app adverts

From the start of August, as the AdMob SDK doesn't support Google Play's Advertising ID code, it will become non-compliant with Google Play's own terms and conditions.

As AdMob is a Google subsidiary, it would be easy for Google to make the necessary changes, but it has been trying to discourage mobile developers from using the legacy AdMob code for some time. The latest change will force app developers to switch to Google's newer ad service services.

Ad serving through the legacy code will carry on after the cut-off date, it's just that app upgrades through Google Play will no longer be possible.

The company said that the deprecation allows "us to focus our development efforts on Google Play services and offer additional exciting features going forward."

Ericsson and Ciena Sign Agreement for Development of IP-optical Convergence:

Ericsson has signed an agreement with Ciena to develop joint transport solutions for IP optical convergence and service provider software defined networking SDN

As part of this agreement, Ericsson will resell Ciena's Converged Packet Optical portfolio, including the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform and 5400 family.

"This strategic global agreement brings together two companies uniquely positioned to drive the adoption of more open, programmable networks. The integration of our industry-leading packet-optical technologies into Ericsson's portfolio, combined with our global distribution agreement, allows us to address a wider market with a combined offering," said Gary Smith, President and CEO, Ciena. "As our industry moves toward a more open networking environment, collaboration within an ecosystem of specialists will be critical for innovation. Our SDN-focused joint development activities will enable us to deliver on network transformation strategies that dynamically support changing demands for network-level applications and services."

The agreement is effective immediately, and go-to-market activities and solution integration efforts are underway.

Apple Pushing for Larger Screen Sizes in iPhone 6 Models:

There is more evidence that Apple is working on two new iPhone handsets with larger screens than their current models

There has long been expectation that Apple would launch two different sized models, but most had expected the smaller of the two to be comparable to the current handset size.

A new report from the South China Morning Post suggests that both new models would be larger than the current crop of Apple smartphones.

Citing sources who have seen the prototypes, the SCMP reported that the two models will come in either  4.7-inch or 5.5-inch screen sizes, which would bring them closer to the more popular screen sizes from other handset manufacturers.

They would also come with a higher screen resolution, matching that offered by Samsung's soon to be replaced S4 smartphone.

Low-Cost BlackBerry Handset Specifications Spotted:

More leaks about what could be BlackBerry s cheapest handset to date just as the company is refocusing on its corporate customer base

Specifications for what is generally code-named the BlackBerry Jakarta and through to be the first handset being supplied by Foxconn under the company's new handset agreement have appeared online.

A handset benchmarking report shows up an unknown handset running the BlackBerry 10.2.1 operating system and coming in with 1.5GB of RAM and a 1.19GHz processor.

That puts it slightly below the company's current lowest priced model, the Q5 in terms of specifications, although it seems to be coming with a more powerful graphics processor.

The release date is still a mystery.

South Korea to Avoid Using Huawei Kit for Sensitive Communications:

The South Korean government appears to have bowed to pressure from the USA and will avoid using Huawei supplied equipment in government communications

All three of South Korea's mobile networks have signed contracts with Huawei for infrastructure upgrades, but US security officials have been expressing concern that communications with the US military based in the country could pass over Huawei equipment.

US officials have repeated their long-standing view that Huawei equipment is a security threat and that its installation in South Korea presented a problem for its military.

Huawei always denies any allegations that it would support spying activities.

However, the Wall Street Journal has reported that the South Korean government has agreed that Huawei gear won't be used or connected to U.S. military bases in the country.

LG U+ is the main customer for Huawei in the country, although both of its rivals also use the company's equipment, they say they do so only in non-sensitive areas.

Android Smartphone Shipments Just Shy of 800 Million in 2013:

The smartphone market passed an important milestone in 2013 when worldwide shipments surpassed the 1 billion mark for the first time driven by continued momentum from Android and iOS

According to IDC, Android and iOS accounted for 95.7% of all smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2013 (4Q13), and for 93.8% of all smartphone shipments for the year. This marked a 4.5-point increase from the 91.2% share that the two platforms shared in 4Q12, and a 6.1-point increase from the 87.7% share they had in 2012.

"Clearly, there was strong end-user demand for both Android and iOS products during the quarter and the year," says Ramon Llamas, Research Manager with IDC's Mobile Phone team. "What stands out are the different routes Android and Apple took to meet this demand. Android relied on its long list of OEM partners, a broad and deep collection of devices, and price points that appealed to nearly every market segment. Apple's iOS, on the other hand, relied on nearly the opposite approach: a limited selection of Apple-only devices, whose prices trended higher than most. Despite these differences, both platforms found a warm reception to their respective user experiences and selection of mobile applications."

Macedonia is First European Country with Pure All IP Network:

Amongst its much bigger brothers and sisters in Europe Macedonia can claim that it is the first European country with pure All IP

Deutsche Telekom announced today that Makedonski Telekom is the first company within the Group with a network fully based on Internet protocol (All IP). Starting in October 2011 and within just 25 months, all 290,000 fixed network lines were migrated onto the new platform. Now services such as Broadband on Demand are already on offer.

"Our vision is a Pan-European network on the basis of All IP. This network will integrate mobile communications and fixed-line network technology. And it will enable a new cloud-based production model", said Claudia Nemat, member of the Board of Deutsche Telekom for Europe & Technology . The objective is to have the customers across Europe migrated to IP by the end of 2018. "The experience gained from Macedonia is of great value. Migrating to All IP is a great challenge. With its successful launch our colleagues in Macedonia are real pioneers", said Nemat.

Over Half of US Smartphone Owners Using TV-Related Apps Monthly:

New research from Parks Associates shows mobile consumption of video is driving usage of TV apps with 55 of U S smartphone owners and 61 of tablet owners using a TV related app at least once a month

"TV app usage is altering the use cases for multiple connected devices; currently 57% of connected game console owners are using the device to watch TV shows," said Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates. "We are also seeing new revenue opportunities emerge through in-app solutions in the smart home and Internet of Things."

Additional research findings

Over 70% of TV-app users are satisfied with the TV show or network apps they use.

The number of global TV app users on smartphones will reach 1.29 billion by 2018.

Over 23% of U.S. smartphone owners 18-34 have used a TV app on their smartphone to schedule a DVR recording. Over 22% have used an app that transforms their smartphone into a remote control for their TV or set-top box.

Apple Starts Verifying Mineral Supplies Don't Come from War Zones:

Apple has started publishing details of which of its component suppliers may be at risk of sourcing materials from war or conflict zones

Conflict minerals as they are called are often mined in areas held by rebel forces in civil wars, and often lack even the most basic of safety systems, and the profits are used to fuel weapons purchases.

The company has confirmed that all its sources of Coltan, a vital mineral in electronics is now ethically sourced, but said that there are still over a hundred suppliers of other minerals that remain unverified.

A total of 59 mineral suppliers are compliant, 23 have agreed to be tested, but the status at 104 suppliers is unknown.

"The ethical sourcing of minerals is an important part of our mission to ensure safe and fair working conditions," Apple said in its latest Supplier Responsibility Report.

Telefonica Expands M2M Services to Three More Countries:

Telefonica has announced that its Smart M2M Solution is now available in Argentina Chile and Mexico.

The same management platform was launched in Spain and Brazil last year, and is an in-house product, developed by Telefónica's R&D in collaboration with Ericsson.

There is a huge variety of connected machines serving different proposes: energy meters, vehicles, buildings, etc. Most of them, provided with an M2M connection that has to be managed and controlled.

Telefónica's Smart M2M Solution incorporates features such as real-time monitoring of traffic type, volume and current consumption, technical supervision of lines (maps of connected devices, advanced diagnostics) and localization. It also offers fraud detection functionalities, including the ability to restrict communications between a list of given devices and the option to establish traffic caps.

Verizon Wireless Doubles Mobile Data Download Allowance:

USA based Verizon Wireless has launched a new tariff called More Everything that sees some customers getting doubled mobile data access without paying more

In addition, unlimited international messaging will be added to unlimited domestic text, picture and video messaging.

Each More Everything line can use up to 25 GB (or up to 250 GB on a 10 line account) of cloud storage from Verizon Wireless,

"More Everything changes the game by adding even more of what customers want from their wireless provider in a single, simple monthly plan," said Ken Dixon, chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless.

Starting today, existing customers on Share Everything plans will be automatically moved to More Everything. The tariff will available to all new customers.

New Zealand Firm Fined for Sending SMS and Email Spam:

A New Zealand marketing company has been issued the country s largest ever fine for sending email and SMS spam messages

Nearly 45,000 text messages were sent to Vodafone and Telecom mobile users by Image Marketing Group (IMG) over a period of a month in 2009.

The IMG text messages were sent from an Australian mobile number to New Zealand mobile users. They contained a hyperlink to a website promoting a mobile phone antenna booster.

When address holders sought to unsubscribe by replying to the messages they were charged the usual fee for sending a text message.

In addition, more than half a million messages were sent to New Zealand email addresses by IMG in December 2009.

In 2010 IMG targeted New Zealanders again during 21 email advertising campaigns which promoted sales of the company's database products for between $1,000 and $2,000 each.

Poland Cancels Radio Spectrum Auction:

Poland's telecoms regulator has cancelled the forthcoming radio spectrum auction following doubts about the legality of the procedures that were being followied.

The auction had been due to offer licences in the 791-816 MHz band and in the 832-857 MHz band, as well as in the 2500-2570 MHz band and in the 2620-2690 MHz bands.

"The auction process itself as well as the accompanying documentation were prepared correctly and in accordance with the provisions of law", said Magdalena Gaj, the President of UKE. "My obligation as a regulatory authority is to ensure that all market players may conduct their business in stable and certain environment. The least desired scenario would be the one in which, due to technical problems with access to the attachments with clarifications of the auction documentation during 2.5 hours at night, the auction participants were exposed to the risk of questioning the decisions taken after the auction."

Outdoor Enclosure from Ericsson Doubles Radio Capacity in Same Footprint:

Ericsson has shown off a modular All-in-One Outdoor Enclosure that houses and powers mobile broadband sites. Built to complement its RBS 6000 portfolio, the maximum high-capacity configuration houses up to 8 digital units, 18 radios and 4 MINI-LINK hops in a footprint of less than 0.5 square meters (70 x 70 cm).

The All-in-One Outdoor Enclosure encapsulates multi-standard radio, transmission, power and climate equipment with savings potential for areas with mild to warm climates.

When configured as a high-capacity outdoor radio base station, the All-in-One Outdoor Enclosure can provide capacity for up to 8 digital and up to 12 radio units for all relevant radio standards and frequency bands. It can also be used as a main unit in a main remote configuration using up to 16 internally installed digital units and up to 18 remote radio units, or a combination of macro and main-remote.

Thai Networks Given Until June to Improve Quality of Service:

Thailand's mobile network operators have been told that they have until June to improve the quality of their networks, or face the risk of losing their license as new regulations come into effect.

The telecoms regulator, the NBTC will gain the new powers in June to issue warnings right up to cancelling­ a mobile network's operating license if the breach is severe.

The new regulations, amongst other changes now require the networks to ensure an 85% successful completion rate across the entire country, rather than averaging it out as before, which lead to some areas doing quite well, and covering up for poor regions.

The vice-chairman of the regulator, Col Settapong Malisuwan said that the changes were in direct response to a surge in customer complaints last year about mobile network quality.

All three main private networks cleared the previous standards, but may fail the new tighter rules, the Colonel warned.

Indian Government May Scrap Talks Over Vodafone's $2.4 Billion Tax Bill:

The Indian government is reportedly considering scrapping negotiation with Vodafone over its controversial tax demands.

The two sides agreed to enter conciliation talks last year to avoid the issue being filed with International Arbitration as Vodafone had threatened.

At stake is a tax demand for US$2.4 billion relating to Vodafone's original investment in the country in 2007.

Although Vodafone took control of the then Hutchison Essar back in 2007, the transaction was routed via offshore subsidiaries. As this is a common practice for many companies, Vodafone felt that no taxes were due in India. The government's counter-argument is that the location of the assets, not the jurisdiction of the transaction is the primary issue.

Nepal Telecom Makes Payment for License Renewal:

Nepal Telecom has made a payment of Rs 189 million to renew its GSM license for another 5 years, but is disputing a demand from the regulator that it pay Rs 20 billion (US$200 million) instead.

The mobile network's license is due to expire in May, and can be renewed until 2019, but there is a dispute over how much that renewal should cost.

The mobile network wants it renewed under the terms of the existing license conditions, which imposed a renewal fee of Rs 189 million. However, the regulator wants the considerably higher fee to be paid under its new rules.

The regulator is threatening a 15 percent fine -- or Rs 2.97 billion -- on the company if it doesn't make the payment.

The dispute technically means that Nepal Telecom wont get its license renewed as it had to be signed off three months before the current license expires. That deadline passed yesterday. It can however be expected that both sides will find a way around that impasse, once they have worked out how much to charge for the license.

SDN Could Save Operators $9 Billion Globally:

Switching to Software Defined Networking (SDN) could reduce the mobile industry's backhaul network expenses by US$9 billion, by dynamically managing traffic and backhaul bandwidth.

Research conducted by Strategy Analytics projects that by 2017, total operating expense (OpEx) savings from SDN in mobile backhaul networks could reach $9 billion globally.

In a new study, Tellabs reveals that OpEx savings from the same 5 applications are more than twice as much as the CapEx savings.

In fact, their report reveals that OpEx savings are forecast to be far greater than CapEx savings every single year between now and 2017, across all 5 applications. According to the August 2013 study, CapEx savings could potentially reach $4.2 billion by 2017. Overall OpEx savings are forecast to reach almost $9 billion, or more than twice the CapEx savings, over the same timeframe.

Wireless Charging Groups Agree to Combine Standards Efforts:

Two rival standards bodies working on wireless recharging of batteries in portable devices have agreed to establish interoperability between their two incompatible standards.

The Power Matters Alliance (PMA) promotes inductive wireless charging, while the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) promotes  resonant wireless charging.

The agreement calls for the PMA to adopt the A4WP specification as the PMA magnetic resonance charging specification for both transmitters and receivers in both single and multi-mode configurations.

Meanwhile, the A4WP will adopt the PMA inductive specification as a supported option for multi-mode inductive, magnetic resonance implementations.

"This announcement delivers a compelling message for the industry to commit and deliver wireless charging devices now. Between the organizations, A4WP and PMA membership consists of the key players necessary to drive industry consolidation and establish a commercially viable globally interoperable wireless charging ecosystem," said Kamil Grajski, President, Alliance for Wireless Power.

Morocco to Require Prepay SIM Card Registration:

Morocco's telecoms regulator, ANRT has announced that mobile networks offering PrePay SIM Cards will need to validate their customer's identification from the start of April.

In a statement, the regulator announced the polcy, which it said applies to both GSM and 3G customers, and banned the sale of pre-activated SIM cards.

Retailers will be required to collect the CNI number from the customer, or another suitable form of identification first.

The mobile networks are to also set up a process for collecting the identifications from their existing customer base. They have been given a year to secure the id of all their existing customers.

Although the specifics were not laid out in the statement, the regulator said that some process for cutting off unregistered SIM cards can be expected from April 2015.

Vodafone Mulling $9.5 Billion Bid for Spanish Cable Operator:

Vodafone is continuing to build up its landline assets in Europe with a reported EUR7 billion (US$9.5 billion) offer to buy the Spanish cable operator, Ono.

Citing unnamed sources, the Reuters news agency reported that Vodafone offered the deal to the company's private equity owners.

Ono's owners had planned a stock market listing, and Vodafone is seeking to persuade them to go for a straight trade sale instead. That would also be cheaper than a listing, providing a price can be agreed.

It would still need the usual regulatory approvals though.

Ono sells fixed and mobile phone, TV and internet services.

Vodafone's offer is expected to be discussed by Ono's board today and is said to be the second attempt to buy the company after its previous offer was rejected as too low.

The company's owners may hold out for an offer in the region of EUR9 billion. However, that puts the cable operator valuation at around 1.5 times the value of its local mobile network.

Proximus Launches LTE Network in Brussels:

Belgium based mobile network, Proximus has become the first operator to have activated LTE coverage in the capital city, Brussels, which is also home to the European Commission.

Proximus launched its LTE network in Belgium in November 2012. Up to now that had not been possible in Brussels due to local regulations from the city council limiting base station emissions.

 Currently, 25% of all data traffic takes place in the Brussels region.

The new standard of the Brussels government is certainly a first step in the right direction in terms of rolling out the 4G network and maintaining the quality of the existing 2G and 3G networks.

Thanks to the amended ordinance of the Brussels Capital Region, the roll-out of the 4G network can now start: today, Proximus was able to activate some of its antennas in Brussels based on the current standard of 3 volts per meter. With today's launch, the 4G network in Brussels reaches 20% of the population. As soon as the Brussels government publishes the implementing decrees, Proximus can roll out the 4G network further under the new standard of 6 volts per meter.

Telrad Networks Secures Reseller Agreement in New York:

Telrad Networks has signed a reseller agreement with New York based Integrated Systems. As part of the agreement, Integrated Systems will offer Telrad Networks products to customers throughout New York.

Telrad offers a comprehensive portfolio of WiMAX, LTE, Dual Mode WiMAX/LTE, and core network products.

Mark Hamilton, President and Founder of Integrated Systems, said, "We've been selling the 'Breeze' products for over a decade. This partnership allows us to build upon Alvarion's legacy, while taking our customers forward with a future-proof, dependable, 4G LTE product line. Telrad has spent the last several months, since the Alvarion BWA acquisition, creating a seamless path from WiMAX to LTE-Advanced for existing WiMAX users, while developing an impressive set of LTE products."

Integrated Systems offers a array of products and services to its niche markets in the region, including IP-based video and surveillance solutions that are suited to the public safety market.

Uruguay's Claro Deploying LTE Network in Montevideo:

Alcatel-Lucent says that it has supplied Claro Uruguay with an end-to-end LTE network that will be fully deployed and operational in Montevideo by the end of this month.

Additional phases of network deployment, which is being laid over the existing 3G network will take place later this year and will increase the coverage in Montevideo and other cities.

The deployment is part of American Movil's LTE Latin American rollout which began with Claro Puerto Rico in 2012

Javier Rey, Alcatel-Lucent Sales Vice President in charge of the America Movil account, said: "This deal positions Alcatel-Lucent as a strategic LTE supplier with one of the world's top service providers and is a great opportunity to become a trusted partner of Claro AUP (Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay). We look forward to additional deployments in this region as frequencies become available."

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Vodafone in $545 Million Talks for Irish Fibre Broadband Network:

Vodafone's Ireland subsidiary is reported to be in talks for a nationwide fibre based broadband network in association with the national electricity company.

The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) confirmed to the Irish Times that it has selected Vodafone as its preferred partner in the EUR400 million (US$545 million) contract that will see telecoms cables strung along the electricity grid to deliver broadband internet services.

Vodafone confirmed yesterday that it had entered exclusive negotiations with ESB for the project, while the power company would only say that "negotiations are ongoing with an international telco".

"ESB has entered into exclusive negotiations with Vodafone Ireland as the preferred bidder to form a joint venture company which will roll out fibre to homes and businesses across Ireland," said Vodafone.

Vodafone is thought to have been the sole bidder though after British Telecom withdrew from bidding for the contract.

Over 800 Million Smartphones Using Indoor Location by 2018:

iBeacons are fast becoming the foot soldiers of indoor location in retail, bringing awareness and adoption, but it is just one of over 10 indoor location technologies competing in this $5 billion space.

A host of new, higher-accuracy, "infrastructure-free" technologies are forecast to change the face of and use case for indoor location in the future.

ABI Research's senior analyst Patrick Connolly said, "We see huge growth for infrastructure-based technologies like Wi-Fi and iBeacons, with BLE deployments forecast to break 20,000 by 2015, largely focused on retail. But the arrival of high-accuracy handset-based technologies like sensor fusion, LED, magnetic field and a host of others, will also enable a whole new set of consumer applications and services around ambient intelligence, social networking, corporate/enterprise, fitness/health, mobile advertising, and gaming. With over 800 million smartphones actively using indoor location for applications by 2018, it will be as standard as GPS is today."

Vodafone Tops Romanian Mobile Number Portability Charts:

The Romanian telecoms regulator has announced that just over 1.2 million phone numbers had been ported to a different provider by the end of last year.

Of the total, 824,153 were mobile telephone numbers and 383,272 fixed telephone numbers. :Last year was also the busiest since number portability was launched in October 2008 -- with 274 thousand numbers ported.

A review of the statistics shows that 80% of mobile number porting requests come from contract customers, with prepay customers seemingly happier to simply buy a new SIM Card.

Vodafone is again the network with the greatest gain of subscribers, i.e. 288,424, followed by Orange, with 270,652 numbers, Cosmote, with 254,646 numbers, RCS & RDS, with 8,299 numbers and Romtelecom, with 1,400 mobile telephone numbers.

Blu Telecom to Launch LTE Services Later This Year:

Ghana based Blu Telecom says that it plans to start services, with an LTE network in the third quarter of this year.

The company paid US$6 million for its license last year, and has committed to spending "tens of millions of dollars" on its initial network deployment. They have also pledged to match the retail prices of the incumbent 3G network operators.

Huawei is the network infrastructure supplier.

Blu Telecoms, was one of three companies awarded Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) licenses in June 2013 at a cost of US$6 million each. The other two license holders are Surfline Telecoms and Goldkey Telecoms.

Flappy Bird Removed From Mobile App Stores:

The developer behind the intensively popular mobile app game, Flappy Bird has pulled the game from sale, citing the sudden pressure of all the media attention on him.

The act of pulling the game from sale has unsurprisingly raised his media profile.

Dong Nguyen had previously said that he coded the game in just a few days and was earning as much as US$50,000 per day in mobile advertising revenues.

Did say on his Twitter account that he still makes games and might make a sequel, but Flappy Birds was over.

"I cannot take this anymore." he ended his message with.

Launched last May, the game which owed much of its look to computer games of the 1980s was free to download and by the time it was withdrawn, had been downloaded more than 50 million times.

An associated YouTube channel promoting the game was watched more than 22 million times.

Chinese Group Submits Report into Alleged Qualcomm Overcharging for Patents:

Further pressure on Qualcomm over its licensing practices in China after the Mobile China Alliance division of the China Communications Industry Association (CCIA) submitted a report accusing Qualcomm of harming Chinese mobile phone industry.

It alleges that Qualcomm has long been overcharging for its technology patents.

The report was sent to the National Development and Reform Commission, which last year started an investigation into the company and how it charges for its technology licenses.

Qualcomm has previously said that it is cooperating with the NDRC investigation, although it still has not been told what the substance of the complaints are.

The company confirmed last November that it is not aware of any charge by the NDRC that Qualcomm has violated the country's anti-monopoly laws. Around half of Qualcomm's revenues in the past year have come from China.

Mobile Video Growth Will Continue to Outpace Viewing on Connected CE:

Despite continued growth of online video viewing on connected CE devices and excitement from new platforms like Google's Chromecast and new consoles from Microsoft and Sony, annual increases in mobile online viewing (tablets and smartphones) are higher than any other category.

Worldwide mobile views already constitute over 20% of the total (in 2013) and this share will continue to grow - more than doubling during the five year forecast window. Pay TV services will continue to serve as the primary video entertainment solution for many consumers, but overall time spent watching online video is expected to pass 21 hours per month by 2019, up from 12.7 hours in 2013 (worldwide average among online video viewers).

Computers, however, will remain relevant as many expect these devices to continue serving as the primary viewing device during the workday hours - while tablets secure the most views in the evening. Connected CE tends to see more traffic in the early evening when families often share viewing time; this viewing replaces traditional linear or DVR TV viewing.

Thailand's DTAC Preparing for LTE Launch in April:

Thailand's DTAC now expects to launch its LTE network in April, having secured the necessary regulatory approvals.

An unnamed source at the regulator told The Nation newspaper that the mobile network aims to launch the service with 200 LTE base stations in Bangkok and around 100 more towers in other cities.

DTAC will be using the 2.1Ghz spectrum it was allocated in last year's license auction. AIS used the spectrum for its 3G service, while Real Future launched both 3G and 4G services.

 DTAC revealed its intention to launch an LTE service last September, when Sigve Brekke, executive vice-president and head of Asia operations at Telenor, which is the company's largest shareholder described the take-up of 3G service in Thailand as "surprisingly running hot", evidenced by the strong growth of mobile data traffic.

Mr Brekke said Telenor is ready to invest more in Thailand to stretch its 3G network across the country, and launch LTE services.

HTC Awards 3-Year Handset Repair Contract to Regenersis:

Handset repair specialist, Regenersis says that it has been awarded a three-year contract from HTC that it describes as "significant".

The 3-year contract will provide mobile device support to HTC across Europe. The contract adds to existing agreements with HTC in Russia and South Africa.

Repair, refurbishment, logistics and parts management will be serviced from three Regenersis Centres in Poland, Romania and Spain.

Matthew Peacock, Executive Chairman said, "The globalisation and integration of our business is one of the keys that has opened the door to HTC. Our clients are looking for a consistently excellent level of service across multiple geographies, and that's what we deliver - every day."

Sprint Takeover Bid for T-Mobile Looking Less Likely:

USA based Sprint is reportedly cooling on a possible bid for its smaller rival T-Mobile as regulators are said to be worried about the deal.

Antitrust officials have recently expressed strong sentiments against a deal publicly, causing Sprint to review its plans, theWall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son and Chief Executive Dan Hesse have met with various regulatory officials in recent weeks but were said to have been surprised at the level of hostility to the deal being expressed, which was far greater than they had expected.

Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division reiterated a general wariness toward wireless consolidation in a speech to the New York State Bar Association.

While the regulators are said to be concerned that the market could end up consolidating into three large players, Sprint and T-Mobile USA are themselves said to be worried that they lack the scale necessary to compete with the big two -- AT&T and Verizon -- effectively leaving the market as a duopoly.

Lufthansa Rolls Out Mobile Phone Services with AeroMobile:

Europe's largest airline, Lufthansa, has launched its inflight mobile phone service with AeroMobile, allowing passengers to use their own mobile devices to text and browse online at 30,000 feet via Lufthansa FlyNet.

With eight aircraft already in service, the German airline has confirmed it will roll out mobile connectivity across its entire long-haul fleet of over 100 aircraft this year.

The AeroMobile network, which allows passengers to roam just as they would abroad, is already available across selected A330s in the Lufthansa fleet, flying from Munich and Frankfurt to North America and the Middle East.

The service is simple to use; passengers simply turn on their mobile device to connect to the network, and are billed directly by their mobile operator. Prices are said to be typically similar to 'rest of world' terrestrial roaming rates.

Indian Spectrum Auction Ends the Week at $9.1 Billion:

India's radio spectrum auction ended the 40th round and its 6th day with bidding topping Rs 56,555 crore (US$9.1 billion), with Delhi retaining the main focus from the big bidders.

As Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Jio Infocomm fought over the Delhi licenses, the bidding more than doubled the reserve price for the circle. Kolkata also saw its prices edge up, although Mumbai's prices were flat for the second day running,

Even if the companies take up the deferred payment option, the government can expect to gain at least Rs 16,750 crore this financial year, which is higher than the government had expected for the entire auction proceeds.

Bidding will continue on Monday, when it will enter its second week and is already far longer than any commentators had expected.

T-Mobile Wins Lawsuit Against AT&T Over the Colour Purple:

T-Mobile USA says that it has won a lawsuit against AT&T over the colour purple.

T-Mobile has long used a shade of purple for its brand, and when AT&T launched its own low-cost service, branded Aio Wireless, it was also used a purple shade -- which it called plum.

The core of the argument centred on the fact that Aio Wireless is a prepay service, and was launched around the same time that T-Mobile revamped its services into a more prepay like format.

In the court filing, T-Mobile accused that "Aio does not use the orange coverage map of its parent company, but instead uses in its stores and on its website a magenta coverage map that is strikingly similar in color to the one used by T-Mobile."

The court has now agreed with T-Mobile.

Verizon Wireless Starts Android OS Upgrades for HTC One Owners:

USA based Verizon Wireless has started rolling out software upgrades to owners of HTC One smartphones. The users should start seeing update messages shortly offering an upgrade to Android OS version 4.4 -- known as KitKat.

The upgrade is being offered as an over-the-air patch and users should see a notification message on their screen when their handset has been identified for the deployment.

The rollout is expected to be staged, so not all users will get it at once, although they can check their handset through the Settings > About Phone menu in case they missed the notification.

The update is a 617MB file download, so connection over Wi-Fi is recomended.

Thailand's TrueMove Facing Investigation Over Phones Promotion:

Thailand's telecoms regulator has confirmed that it is investigating a swathe of complaints from TrueMove customers after a promotion appeared to go wrong.

TrueMove urgently needs to migrate customers from its expired GSM network concession to its affiliate's 3G network, and pledged to offer 2 million free 3G phones to migrating customers.

Customers who owned an existing 3G handset were asked to switch over to the 3G network, and were told that in exchange for doing so by the end of last October, they would get a new 3G handset at the end of December.

Customers started complaining at the start of this year, when they received an SMS saying they would not get the free phone because they did not comply with the conditions.

Foxconn Planning $1 Billion Investment in Indonesia:

Handset assembly giant, Foxconn is to invest up to US$1 billion in Indonesia, it has announced.

The Taiwan based company, which employs most of its staff in China has been looking to expand into other countries and been setting up local plants worldwide. In part due to local trade and tax incentives and in part due to rising wage costs within China itself.

The company said that it will invest in Indonesia in the Jakarta province, due to its superior infrastructure compared to the rest of the country, highlighting the importance of good road and rail links for manufacturers.

"We plan to come up with detailed investment plans for the Indonesian and Jakarta authorities in three months," a company official said.

Once started, the investment is expected to be completed in three to five years, leaving open a fairly wide margin for changes to the plans in the future.

An Android Tablet with Split Personalities:

A US security firm has developed an Android tablet that splits work and personal usage by having two totally separated hardware based operating systems.

Operating code in one (including any malware) cannot access the other. One OS is called the "WorkZone," the other the "PlayZone," recognizing that tablets are increasingly used for both enterprise and personal activity.

The two OS's do not share resources that could possibly cause cross-contamination, distinguishing the technology from methods such as sandbox/containerization, virtualization, profile separation.

The company, InZero Systems says that it developed the product to address the BYOD market, while also offering a level of security for the company data that is required by IT managers.

Samsung Unveils New Black Edition Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 Mini:

Although Samsung is expected to announce a successor to its Galaxy S4 within the next few weeks, that hasn't stopped it tweaking the current model.

The company has now launched a new Black Edition versions of the Galaxy S4 and S4 mini.

Both the Galaxy S4 and S4 mini Black Editions sport a leather-like textured black back cover and bezel, along with matching accessories.

"As Samsung continues to expand on the modern Galaxy design approach, we're excited to offer Black Edition versions of our popular Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 mini," said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics.

The Black Edition Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 mini devices will be available in select markets from February.

Iraq Government Looking to Auction 3G Licenses:

Iraq's government is seeking to sell its 3G licenses to the incumbent mobile networks for at least US$307 million each.

The country's three national mobile networks are currently limited to GSM services, and while customer growth was initially considerable in a country that lacked reliable telecommunications, the lack of 3G services has been a drag in the past couple of years.

Last week the Council of Ministers agreed in principle to auction 3G licences, Ahmed Alomary, a former commissioner at the Communications and Media Commission (CMC), told Reuters.

The reserve price has been set at US$307 million, although that is currently just indicative and could change. The mobile networks, who paid US$1.25 billion each for their licenses in 2007 have long argued that they shouldn't have to pay extra for 3G approvals.

The auction will also be open to new entrants to the market after plans to automatically award the licenses to the three incumbent operators was rejected.

India's Spectrum Auction Reaches $8.5 Billion in Bids:

India's radio spectrum auction is still ongoing, having lasted longer than expected and prices are inching ever closer the rates paid back in 2010 for the 3G licenses.

The third round on Friday took place with demand still exceeding supply in Assam, J&K, MP, West Bengal, UP (E) and UP (W), and Delhi seeing a marked surge in interest.

At the end of Thursday, total bids came in at around Rs 52,689 crore (US$8.5 billion), made up of Rs 30,754 for the 1800Mhz spectrum and Rs 21,935 crore for the 900Mhz spectrum.

The high prices being offered will be a relief to the government following the two previous auctions which barely covered the reserve prices.

The price of 900 Mhz spectrum in Delhi jumped by nearly 80% to Rs 639.24 crore per megahertz as compared to the reserve price of Rs 360 crore. In Mumbai, the 900 Mhz spectrum increased by 72 percent to Rs 563.09 crore per Mhz and in Kolkata by 54 percent to Rs 192.71 crore.

Island Community Split over Mobile Phone Plans:

A remote island off the northern end of the UK could be able to get mobile phone coverage for the first time, despite misgivings by some that they will disturb the peace of the residents.

The tiny island of Coll in the Inner Hebrides is home to around 200 residents, and as such the cost of deploying mobile phone coverage has been prohibitive for such a small population.

Now the Scottish government has agreed to pay for the construction of a single mast and microwave link, and the locals will be asked to pick up the £2,000 per year running costs. They hope to reduce that somewhat by renting capacity on the mast to other users, such as the medical and emergency services.

The island is well-known for its wildlife, basking sharks and recently secured stargazing "dark skies" status, which makes it a lure for tourists.

Huawei Denies Hacking into BSNL Base Stations:

China's Huawei has denied media reports that it had hacked into the infrastructure of the state-owned mobile network operator, BSNL, and said it will work with the authorities to address any security concerns.

India's ICT Minister, Killi Kruparani told the parliament that the government is investigating the claims that at least one base station in Andhra Pradesh had been targeted by the Chinese vendor.

"The government has constituted an interministerial team to investigate the matter," Minister of State for Communications and IT Killi Kruparani informed the Lok Sabha.

"Huawei India denies such alleged hacking and continues to work closely with customers and government in India to address any network security issue- that may arise in technical and business operations - with full compliance on network security norms, regulations and laws," Scott Sykes, Vice President, Head of International Media Affairs of Huawei stated.

Nokia and HTC Settle All Outstanding Patent Disputes:

In a brief statement that belies its importance, Nokia and HTC have settled all pending patent litigation between them, and entered into a patent and technology collaboration agreement.

The financial terms of the agreement are being kept confidential.

HTC will make unspecified amounts of payments to Nokia and the collaboration will involve HTC's LTE patent portfolio, strengthening Nokia's licensing portfolio. The companies will also explore future technology collaboration opportunities.

"We are very pleased to have reached a settlement and collaboration agreement with HTC, which is a long standing licensee for Nokia's standards essential patents," said Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia.

Nokia has won a number of patent victories against HTC over the past couple of years, mostly in the UK and Germany.

"HTC's General Council, Grace Lei said that the company is pleased to come to this agreement, which will enable it "to stay focused on innovation for consumers,"

Californian Law Proposes Mandatory Kill-Switch for Stolen Mobile Phones:

California's state government is proposing to require mobile phones sold in the state to come with a mandatory remote kill-switch that could be activated if they are reported as stolen.

The theft of smartphones and other communications devices now accounts for one third of all robberies in the USA, making it the number one property crime in the country. The problem is even more prevalent in some of California's largest cities.

More than half of all robberies in San Francisco involve the theft of a mobile device, a number that goes up to 75 percent in the East Bay city of Oakland. Los Angeles also has a significant smartphone robbery problem, with reported thefts increasing 12 percent in 2012.

If approved, the new legislation, being proposed by Senator Mark Leno and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, will come into effect from the beginning of next year.

Telefonica Expands M2M Service into Europe:

Telefónica announced the next phase in the launch of its M2M Channel Partner Programme -- which basically expands the existing service outside the USA to Europe.

Telefónica first launched this programme in the USA, working with companies who want to expand to other markets where Telefónica has a strong presence. More than 80 partners enrolled in less than 7 months.

Telefónica said that it is now extending this initiative globally starting with Europe before rolling out to other markets.

"90 additional companies are already in the process of being part of our Channel Partner Programme and the objective for 2014 is to enrol a total of 250 partners." says Rafael García Meiro, Telefónica Digital's Global Partner Sales Unit Director.