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.

French Network Operators Agree to Share Infrastructure:

Two French mobile network operators, Bouygues Telecom and SFR have signed an agreement to share a part of their mobile access networks, following a period of negotiations that started in July 2013.

The two networks will now roll out a new, shared network in an area covering 57% of the French population (France excluding its 32 biggest urban areas of more than 200,000 inhabitants and blind spots).

The agreement will enable the two operators to improve their mobile coverage and generate significant savings.

The companies will create a dedicated joint venture to manage the shared base station assets and will then enter into a RAN-sharing agreement covering 2G, 3G and 4G services in the shared areas mentioned above.

The shared network is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

Etisalat Looking to Add 1,500 Base Stations in 2014:

UAE based Etisalat says that its network now offers the widest coverage in both 3G and 4G services compared to its rival, Du.

The company has increased the number of its base stations to 6,000 by the end of last year, and expects to increase that to 7,500 by the end of this year. The network currently covers 99.8 percent of the country, but the core of the future upgrades will be to boost indoor coverage.

Saeed Al Zarouni, Senior Vice President, Business Planning and Technology Evolution, said, "Etisalat always strives to provide the highest level of service enabling customers to utilise all services over the network. Recent studies conducted by Etisalat indicate that more than 65 per cent of mobile calls are made within buildings and premises."

"Therefore, we have continuously enhanced indoor coverage despite the fact that we already lead in providing the best indoor coverage with high quality service and download speeds, according to the recent report from the TRA."

Etisalat is now conducted testing on the 4G networks reaching speeds of 300mbps.

Moody's: China Mobile's Sale of IPhones is Credit Positive:

Moody's Investors Service says that China Mobile's right to sell iPhones on the Mainland is credit positive for the Chinese mobile telecommunications carrier.

Moody's expects that such sales will help China Mobile improve its market positions in the growing areas of 3G and 4G services, while slowing the pace of decline in its average revenue per user (ARPU).

China Mobile's market share for 3G services has been smaller than its overall mobile market share of over 60%, although it maintains the largest share.

As of November 2013, its 3G market share was 45%, while its two major competitors -- China Unicom and China Telecom -- had the shares of 30% and 25%, respectively.

This situation is largely because of the intense competition in 3G services, as well as China Mobile's use of TD-SCDMA. This is a home-grown technology and was initially incompatible with major manufacturers' handsets, including Apple's iPhone.