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.

AT&T Still Considering a Takeover Bid for Vodafone:

Although it has publicly ruled out a bid in the short-term, USA based AT&T is reportedly still mulling a potential bid for Vodafone Group.

AT&T issued a statement earlier this week that it was not planning a takeover bid for the company. It was required to issue the statement by the London Stock Exchange, whose rules also conditionally forbid launching a takeover within six months of issuing a denial.

However, citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News said that AT&T is still weighing up such a takeover bid.

Although it is officially locked out of launching a hostile bid within six months, AT&T can still talk to Vodafone, and they could launch a friendly takeover or merger -- or AT&T could participate as a junior partner in a hostile bid lead by another company.

Bids of this nature tend to take months to arrange anyway, so even if AT&T is barred from bidding, it could still comfortably spend the next six months preparing the finances and legal options ready for when the deadline expires.

US Networks Agree to Start Unlocking Mobile Phones:

The USA's largest networks have taken steps to forestall legislation and agreed to voluntarily start unlocking phones, subject to conditions.

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless agreed to adopt a voluntary set of six principles for unlocking of consumers' mobile phones and tablets.

Before 2013, users didn't need permission to manually unlock a phone themselves, but a decision by the Librarian of Congress made it a copyright issue and effectively banned the practice.

There are ongoing bipartisan efforts in the U.S. House and Senate to pass a permanent fix to the law, so the voluntary agreement is likely to be a short-term measure.

CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent warned though that "It is important that consumers know that unlocking devices may not necessarily mean full interoperability since devices that work on one provider's network may not be technologically compatible with another wireless provider's network."

The statement from the CTIA did not outline what the six principles would be for unlocking phones, and they still need to be formally approved by the networks and the trade group.

ITU Telecom World 2013 sets agenda for far-reaching changes in ICT sector:

ITU Telecom World 2013 closed its doors last week following a packed programme of networking, knowledge sharing and industry showcasing. The event featured an impressive global line up of showfloor participants, sponsors and partners, including Ooredoo, China Mobile, Huawei, Intel, Alcatel-Lucent, ABS, AT&T, Microsoft Lync, NTT Group, AIS Group, True, DTAC, Telkom South Africa, Rohde & Schwarz & LS Telecom.

Pavilions from around the world highlighted opportunities for dynamic ICT investments to a global audience, featuring Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, China, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Lao P.D.R, Malaysia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand (including supporting partners MICT, NBTC and TCEB), Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

“We have enjoyed four busy days of conversations, showcasing and networking at ITU Telecom World 2013,” said ITU Secretary General, Dr Hamadoun Touré. “We welcomed the world’s youngest country, South Sudan, organizations at the cutting edge of our ICT ecosystem as well as young innovators who are already helping shape the future. It has been my privilege to join such a truly broad global debate. As we prepare to return home to different corners of the globe, my overarching hope is that we can take the lessons learnt from our debates here and apply them directly in our lives. Let’s become true agents of change, working to change the world for the better.”

Hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand, ITU Telecom World 2013 convened over 6000 participants from 153 countries worldwide.

“It has been an honour to host ITU Telecom World 2013 and welcome its global participants, showcasing our ICT industry to the world, via all our many activities within the Thai pavilion,” said Group Captain Anudith Nakornthap, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Thailand. “Utilizing the platform that ITU Telecom World 2013 provides has helped us demonstrate and strengthen Thailand’s position as an ICT hub in the ASEAN region.’’

The seismic change taking place in the ICT industry and its far-reaching impact was the core theme underpinning all activities at the event.