Telecommunication News Blog

HONG KONG (AFP) - Apple has started selling unlocked models of its popular iPhone 3G in Hong Kong which allow users the freedom to select the telecoms provider of their choice.
The eight gigabyte version was on sale Saturday at Apple’s online store for 5,400 Hong Kong dollars (about 700 US dollars), while the 16 gigabyte model was 6,200 dollars.

Apple said the phone can be activated with any wireless carrier.

The move is a shift from Apple’s previous strategy of tying the phone exclusively to a single mobile operator in each country or territory.

The iPhone 3G was previously only officially available in Hong Kong bundled with a two-year contract from tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Telecom, on tariff plans ranging from 188 to 498 dollars a month.

The latest version offers a touch screen, high-speed Internet browsing with third generation networks, WiFi, e-mail, GPS and an integrated music and video player.

Apple sold a million iPhone 3G models in the first weekend after its July 11 launch in 21 countries and territories around the world.

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of 16 leading telecoms and IT companies is uniting to promote mobile broadband in a marketing initiative worth more than $1 billion over the next year under the auspices of the GSM Association.

The companies — which include Vodafone, Microsoft and Asustek — aim to make it simpler for consumers to identify laptops that have built-in access to the Internet via high-speed, next-generation HSPA and LTE networks.

According to research commissioned by the GSMA and Microsoft and carried out by Pyramid Research, there is demand for $50 billion worth of such notebooks this year.

“We definitely expect to see several hundred thousand in the shops by Christmas time,” Mike O’Hara, the GSMA’s chief marketing officer, told Reuters by telephone.

The group said the move also could pave the way to connect devices from MP3 music players to refrigerators and cars to the Internet in future.

The partners will label laptop computers that meet their standards for mobile broadband access with a new service mark that identifies laptops ready for mobile broadband connection “out of the box.”

Many in the telecoms and computer industries believe that most people in the world will have their first and perhaps only experience of the Internet via a mobile device.

“While there will always be a place for WiFi connectivity, the great benefit of mobile broadband might be that it liberates the user from the spatial tyranny of the so-called ‘hotspot,’” Shiv K. Bakhshi, director of mobility research at IT research firm IDC, said in a GSMA statement released on Tuesday.

The other partners in the initiative are 3, a unit Hutchison Whampoa Ltd Dell, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, Orange, a unit of France Telecom SA, Qualcomm, Telefonica Europe, T-Mobile and Toshiba.

IRVINE, Calif. & BILLINGS, Mont.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division (Toshiba — www.telecom.toshiba.com) and Clearfly Communications™ Inc. (www.clearfly.net), an infrastructure-based provider of integrated communications solutions for the small and medium business community, today announced that Clearfly’s ClearPhone™ services have been certified with Toshiba’s family of Strata® CIX™ IP business communication systems and are now available from Authorized Toshiba Dealers. Clearfly provides SIP Trunking services throughout the Western and Midwestern United States.

“Clearfly brings Toshiba’s Strata CIX IP business communication system users a cost-effective, reliable new choice for SIP Trunking services,” said Brian Metherell, vice president and general manager for Toshiba Information Systems, Telecommunication Systems Division. “We are pleased to offer Clearfly’s ClearPhone SIP Trunking services to Toshiba customers via our network of Authorized Toshiba Dealers.”

“Clearfly’s ClearPhone enables Toshiba Strata CIX IP users to optimize their systems by providing T1 services that are terminated locally on a routing device with a direct handoff to the individual Toshiba Strata CIX system,” said Chris Hunter, chief marketing officer for Clearfly Communications. “Since Clearfly owns its own network, it controls and maintains a high level of quality of service and reliability while delivering savings of up to 30 percent in long distance and network infrastructure costs for its customers. In fact, the Clearfly solution completely eliminates long distance costs for calls made within the United States and Canada.”

“Using Clearfly ClearPhone gives small enterprise users of Toshiba’s Strata CIX40 IP business communication system the benefits of PRI without the expense. Together, Toshiba’s Strata CIX40 and Clearfly ClearPhone allows companies with even as few as four trunks to enjoy DID numbers and unified messaging, plus compatibility with Toshiba’s Video Communication System (VCS®), Net Phone™ and MicroMAS media application server,” said Ray Mosness, president of ABTelcom Inc. in Billings, Mont. “We beta tested the Clearfly SIP Trunking solution for Toshiba and liked it so much that we are keeping it for our business.”

Clearfly’s ClearPhone services come in flat-rate data and voice packages with unlimited long distance and are specifically designed for the needs of companies with 5 to 500 employees. The services feature the reliability and quality of traditional voice, bundled with the performance and functionality of dedicated high-speed Internet access. Clearfly services are delivered through a single connection with domestic local and long distance as well as international calls to Canada included in the base rate, giving customers savings of up to 30 percent in their monthly telecommunications expenses. ClearPhone easily connects to the Toshiba Strata CIX IP business communication system so that the transition to the new service is virtually invisible to users and allows customers to maintain all their current phone numbers.

“With ClearPhone, Toshiba enterprise users get local, long distance and dedicated Internet access in one simple, reliable package,” said Eric Abing, product manager, Toshiba America Information Systems, Telecommunication Systems Division. “This allows our customers to maximize the reach of their Toshiba Strata CIX system while continuing to take advantage of the system’s flexibility, application-rich functionality, and unbeatable reliability.”

OTTAWA, CANADA–(MARKET WIRE)–Oct 1, 2008 — Wi-LAN Inc. (”Wi-LAN” or the “Company”) (Toronto:WIN.TO - News), a leading technology innovation and licensing company, today provided a litigation update.

Wi-LAN believes that Intel Corporation (”Intel”) has filed a claim against Wi-LAN in the Northern District of California requesting a declaratory judgment that 18 of Wi-LAN’s U.S. patents are invalid and have not been infringed. No such claim has been served on Wi-LAN. If and when served, Wi-LAN will evaluate the claim and take appropriate action at that time.

Wi-LAN initiated patent infringement litigation, related to three patents which Wi-LAN believes are not included in the Intel declaratory judgment claim, against 22 major companies in two actions on October 31, 2007. Intel is among 19 defendants that remain in these actions.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Zultys, Inc. today announced a new line of hardware and software packages that make it easy for small to medium sized companies to purchase IP PBX enterprise systems. A Zultys ONE system is simple to buy and deploy, and scales in capacity as a company grows.

We’ve been listening to customers in the marketplace,” said Steve Rothenberg, CEO of Zultys, Inc. “Most business owners want to focus on their mission, not on technology. They asked us to develop a streamlined process for purchasing an integrated suite of pre-packaged, pre-configured systems that would work seamlessly together, and would be easy to administer.”The ready-to-use packages start with the award-winning MX250 platform. Customers then purchase a kit sized for the number of users in their organization. ONE packages will support up to 250 people without adding equipment, and can be extended to as many as 10,000 users across an entire system.

The entry level ONE Essential is built on the MX 30 platform for 10 users and is expandable to 30 users. Additional ONE packages available include the ONE/20, ONE/50, ONE/100, and ONE/200, and they include every necessary component for a state-of-the-art IP PBX communications system, except for the phones themselves.

Zultys, a Silicon Valley company known for developing innovative, open standards IP communications and telephony products, will offer the ONE systems through its national network of distributors and value-added resellers.

“I’m very excited to provide my customers with a simplified method of evaluating, selecting, and installing powerful phone systems,” said George Richardson, CEO of CT Distributing based in Greenville, South Carolina, one of Zultys’ largest U.S. distributors. “ONE kits come complete with the most requested features, like call forwarding, call routing, faxing, and centralized administration.”

“We’ve designed the ONE bundles to aggressively improve our competitive position in the small to medium size business market, and we expect to see an increase in sales as a result,” said Rothenberg.

Richardson continued, “CT Distributing prefers to recommend Zultys’ ONE because it is based on solid, open standards IP technology, which provides smarter, and more affordable, enterprise-level communications systems.”

Zultys’ award winning IP PBX systems offer an all-in-one turnkey system with pre-loaded software and do not require additional or external servers. The platform supports PC, Mac, and Linux equipment, so installation and maintenance are less complex, deploy faster, and are more cost effective than with other brands.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ – Telephony Magazine has named the Verizon Enterprise Center (VEC), the company’s online site for enterprise customers around the world, as the most innovative enterprise service of 2008.

The VEC, introduced by Verizon earlier this year, is an extensive application suite that enables Verizon Business and Verizon Wireless large-business and government customers to manage their voice, data, Internet and wireless services on a single one-stop portal, using a convenient single sign-on.

“Verizon has done a great job of enhancing its customer portal over the past 12-18 months,” said Cindy Whelan, analyst with Current Analysis and one of the Telephony Innovation Award judges. “The portal offers a wealth of information to customers, with a particular eye to enhancing features for multinational users.”

Carol Wilson, editor-in-chief of Telephony, said: “This was a particularly competitive category. Verizon Business’ entry stood out in the eyes of our judges because of the power it put into the hands of its largest customers. The judges viewed this as a practical tool that Verizon developed which goes beyond what its competition is offering.”

The magazine, a leading industry trade publication, presented the award at the Telephony LIVE summit Sept. 30 in Chicago.

Telephony began the Innovation Awards last year to recognize companies that create and deploy innovative telecom services. The awards are open to all service providers, including telecom and cable companies, wireless service providers, managed and hosted service providers, ISPs, and applications service providers.

“This prestigious award recognizes the critical role the Verizon Enterprise Center plays in helping our multinational customers to more effectively manage their business,” said Tom Vitale, vice president of customer enablement and cross-product support for Verizon Business. “We will continue to invest in the VEC and design innovative self-service applications that facilitate how our customers do business with us, on their schedule and on their terms.”

Mark Bartolomeo, vice president - enterprise data sales for Verizon Wireless, said: “The Verizon Wireless commitment to providing customers with quality service extends to every aspect of our business. Giving customers the tools they need to manage their Verizon accounts is as important as providing them with network reliability. It is a winning combination, and we are thrilled at the recognition.”

Nortel is the first telecommunications equipment and services company to achieve Approved Partner status in the UK’s Government Gateway Alliance Programme (GGAP). The Alliance Programme (GGAP) is part of the Cabinet Office’s e-Delivery Team’s ongoing commitment to work in partnership with key IT suppliers in delivering the Government Gateway and related services across the Public Sector. Government organisations will benefit from access to Nortel’s expertise in unified communications, wireless and wireline networks.

“A common IT infrastructure across government departments can greatly benefit information security while reducing duplication and removing unnecessary cost,” said Darryl Edwards, president EMEA, Nortel. “Being awarded Approved Partner status by EDT is proof of Nortel’s capabilities and recognition of our solutions and innovation by those with the most rigorous demands.”

The criteria required for approval to the programme are based on a company’s credibility, capability, technical aptitude and commitment to working closely in partnership with the Cabinet Office and e-Delivery Team (EDT).

“We are delighted to have Nortel on board,” said Damien Kennedy, head of partnering, EDT (Transformation Government). “As the programme moves into its next phase, we’ll be focused on the delivery of innovation and the reduction of life time costs of ICT estates and so having industry leaders, such as Nortel, being a part of the programme, is essential to our success.”

EDT is a division of Transformational Government within the Cabinet Office, and is based in Warrington, UK. The purpose of EDT is to sustain and develop the UK’s Government Gateway, the mechanism by which citizens and government officers can gain secure access to personal government- held services and information. To date, the GGAP has signed up over 50 private sector IT companies in order to co-ordinate and promote the roll out of the Government Gateway across the Public Sector.

About Nortel

Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel’s technologies are designed to help eliminate today’s barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com.

HONG KONG, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc and China Mobile  have called off talks to launch the U.S. firm’s popular iPhones in China, dashing speculation the device will hit the country’s store shelves soon.

Shares in China Mobile, the world’s largest cellular operator, sunk to an intraday low minutes after the news, sliding nearly 3 percent to HK$130.00 in late afternoon trade.

The iPhone, a cellphone that accesses the Internet and plays music, sells for about $500 in the United States — about double the average monthly salary in China. News that the two telecoms giants were in talks over the device’s potential launch in the world’s largest telecoms arena helped Apple’s stock climb more than 10 percent on Nov. 13.

“Our parent has terminated talks with Apple over the iPhone,” a spokeswoman for listed China Mobile said, confirming several unsourced Internet reports. She would not elaborate.

Experts said last year that the iPhone would have to navigate a spate of technical, content and fee issues unique to China, including a standard revenue-sharing agreement that China Mobile would be sure to dislike, before any launch could proceed.

The iPhones — one of the hottest gadgets to hit U.S. and European stores in 2007 — might also be incompatible with China because of their “locked” SIM cards. That meant the device would not be able to piggyback another operator’s network.

It’s unclear what Apple, which has declined to comment on the issue, planned now for China.

China Unicom, the smaller of the country’s only two wireless carriers, said in 2007 it had no plans to bring the device into the country but was open to the idea. (Reporting by Vinicy Chan; writing by Edwin Chan; editing by Anne Marie Roantree)

Wavecom SA  today announced the introduction of the Q64 Wireless CPU®, an enhanced version of the GR64 that is powered by Wavecom’s Wireless Microprocessor^® WMP100.

According to Philippe Guillemette, Wavecom Marketing VP, “The Q64 will have a host of new features in the same popular, robust form factor as the GR64 thus facilitating integration into existing customer product designs. Customers appreciating the benefits of the GR64 will be able to continue using the form factor while taking advantage of the Open AT^® Software Suite, without discarding existing design efforts.”

The new Q64 Wireless CPU^® has increased processing power (up to 85 MIPS available for embedded customer applications) and the Open AT^® RTOS (Real Time Operating System) that allows customers to natively execute C-based applications directly on the Wireless CPU^®. It will also support important new features like IDS (Intelligent Device Services) for remotely upgrading and monitoring devices, new I/Os including USB as well as additional Internet connectivity features such as FTP, HTTP and more Security options. Through the use of Wavecom’s latest Open AT^® Software Suite version 2.0, numerous Plug-Ins such as Airbiquity’s aqLink^® and Lua scripting are also available.

As with all new Wireless CPU^® devices built on Wavecom core technology, the Q64 will have the possibility to interface with a wide variety of companion offerings including GPS and Bluetooth and will have access to Wavecom’s inSIM™ technology (embedded industrial-grade SIM chip).

In order to provide complete customer flexibility and adaptation possibilities, the Q64 comes with the new GR Plug-In, available as a library and source code, for providing compatibility with Wavecom-owned GR64-specific AT commands.

Engineering samples of the new Q64 are available now with commercial availability scheduled in March 2008. The Q64 is not a replacement for the GR64 which continues to be available in the Wavecom product portfolio to meet customer needs whose designs are based on this device.

Agreement Signed Will Enable Bilateral Data Service Roaming between Swisscom Mobile, China Netcom, China Mobile, and Future Chinese

Hotpots BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Coordinate Technologies, the leading provider of wireless data interconnectivity services for Carriers accessing the China market, announced today that it has finalized a bilateral roaming agreement with Swisscom, Switzerland’s leading telecommunications operator. Swisscom customers will now have access to over 2200 WiFi hotspots managed by China Netcom and China Mobile, including 43 airports, 1300 hotels, and all Starbucks locations. Chinese customers will be able to access 1000 top-tier hotspots managed by Swisscom.

China Netcom operates 400 Hotspots, primarily in North China, and is anticipated to add an additional 1000 Hotspots before the 2008 Olympics. China Mobile operates 1836 hotspots. Both Operators are planning significant capital investments in their WLAN coverage.

International Carriers are hungry to access the China market, especially given the current lack of 3G data services and the heightened excitement leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Jason Liang, CEO of Coordinate Technologies, stated: “It is very exciting to work with Swisscom. As Chair of the WRIX Forum roaming service specification workgroup, Swisscom has played a central role in defining roaming standards within the Wireless Broadband Alliance.” The Wireless Roaming Intermediary eXchange (WRIX) from the Wireless Broadband Alliance has been voted the winning entry for the ‘Best WiFi Product or Service’ category at the 2007 Wireless Broadband Innovation Awards ceremony.

Tommy Bertling, senior product manager at Swisscom, stated: “We are continually looking to provide innovative WiFi services to our customers. This agreement with Coordinate means that we can extend Swisscom services into the rapidly growing Chinese market.” With a market share of 64%, Swisscom is the market leader in the Swiss telecommunications sector.

About Coordinate Technologies

Coordinate Technologies Communications Limited (Coordinate Technologies) provides wireless data interconnectivity services to global Service Providers leveraging 802.11 (Wi-Fi) and 802.16 (WiMAX) standards. Coordinate Technologies was founded in 2006 by CEO Jason Liang who formerly oversaw all WLAN operations for China Netcom and was the China appointed representative to the Wireless Broadband Alliance. Coordinate customers include China Netcom, China Mobile, iPass, Boingo, WeRoam, Orange, SFR, BOZII, Vex, Smart, and PT WiFi. www.coordinate-tech.com