The Honourable President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil today launched ‘Sanchar Shakti’ - the Gender Budget scheme for Mobile Connectivity & ICT related livelihood skills for Self Help Groups – an initiative by Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular services provider under the aegis of Universal Service Obligation Fund of the Department of Telecommunications...

The newest entrant to the Indian 3G market is Aircel, with the operator announcing that it has begun offering services in Chennai...

Thailand could see 3G auctions by the end of 2011, according to statements from Natee Sokonrat, the commissioner of the country’s new regulator...

New international IP and content distribution services will be enabled in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East following the announcement of a strategic long-term agreement between Middle East operator Saudi Telecom and Level 3 Communications...

Following on from allegations originating from European vendors that Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE are receiving state funding, China’s Ministry of Commerce has accused the EU of the same thing in a new study...

With Thailand beset by ongoing political problems on top of a sluggish economy, the country's telecom sector seems to have lost direction...

A Zimbabwean internet and VoIP provider will now also provide WiMAX services following a deal with mobile broadband solutions provider Greenpacket. Aptics Trading has signed a WiMAX modem supply contract with the firm...

One of Poland’s largest telecoms operators has launched a new video-on-demand service for its subscribers. INEA’s new Wypo?yczalnia Filmów service is running on the open converged Service Delivery Platform (cSDP) from SeaChange|eventIS, which also served as systems integrator on the project...

In the face of strong competition to its commercial mobile business, Vodafone Essar is attempting to make inroads into India’s fixed-line arena, as well as incorporating business services into its strategy...

Kuwait’s largest mobile operator, Zain, will soon be able to offer its customers new and personalised services more rapidly. The operator has unified its customer data that was previously distributed across the network into a single database based on Nokia Siemens Networks’ One-NDS platform...

Mobile commerce and financial services are currently being trialled in Libya as part of a new global partnership between Nokia Siemens Networks and MoreMagic Solutions...

A new cable system that stretches between Europe and India is set to enhance diversity between the two territories. Launched by Bharti airtel, the Europe India Gateway (EIG) system has received investment of around $700 million and has a capacity of 3.84 terabits per second...

The main challenge now in emerging markets is to deliver mobile internet affordably, both to urban elites and to presently unserved remote areas. To do this, operators will need to be innovative...

If there is such a thing as the hot topic in telecoms, Mobile World Congress is where you will find out about it. And right now the issue that is taking up more time than anything else in the minds and engineering departments of service providers as well as vendors it is the explosion of data over mobile networks...

The Bahraini operator Batelco has had its offer to buy a 25% in Zain’s Saudi operations rejected by the Kuwaiti firm. This development is yet another setback for Etisalat’s bid to purchase a controlling stake in Zain...

The South African operator Cell C has partnered with network optimisation specialists Aircom International to empower its customers to play a direct role in enhancing user experience...

Three Chinese operators have deployed new networks offering high speed internet access. Sichuan Telecom, Guangxi Telecom and Inner Mongolia Mobile have all launched networks based on Wavion’s Beamforming Wi-Fi base stations...

Vodafone has unveiled three own-brand handsets aimed at extending access to a range of mobile and data services in emerging markets, including money transfer, the mobile internet and a localised content offering...

Customers in 16 African countries will be able to make financial transactions across Airtel Africa’s network, following the deployment of Pyro’s Transaction Hub platform – the world’s first mobile virtual card...

A new payment service has been introduced in Serbia by the network operator Telenor. Named PlatiMo, the service allows customers to pay their bills and perform other financial services via their mobile phones directly from their bank accounts...

An upcoming Moroccan operator is rolling out a new platform with the aim of rewarding customer loyalty. Inwi has commissioned sicap to provide its Customer Retention Platform, a flexible, plug and play solution which rewards inwi subscribers for their mobile, fixed or Internet service loyalty...

Togo’s leading mobile operator is planning a major expansion and upgrade of its 2G/3G wireless network. Togo Cellulaire has commissioned Alcatel-Lucent to extend its network...

A unique new device from Vodafone named the Webbox has the potential to revolutionise internet access in emerging markets. The first device of its kind, the Webbox is a keyboard which, once plugged into any television set, provides affordable internet access...

One of Madagascar’s leading operators is targeting the country’s Village Phone Operators (VPOs) with a new cloud-based mobile service...

The South African operator Cell C has deployed a new solution to allow it focus its resources on rolling out and delivering compelling services and experiences for its customers...

América Móvil subscribers will soon be able to get advertisements tailored to their interests through their mobile devices. The leading mobile operator in Latin America is introducing an end-to-end mobile advertising solution provided by Ericsson. Ericsson will also manage the solution and interfaces with all players in the advertising eco-systems...

Aito Technologies, a provider of customer experience analytics (CEA), has announced an agreement with UCell, the second largest operator in Uzbekistan, to deploy its analytics product suite. Aito CEA will enable UCell to enhance user experience, identify specific customer segments, optimise service creation, sales and marketing...

The handset manufacturer Mi-Fone  has launched the Mi-Q200 family of devices, which are bundled with Synchronica's Mobile Gateway next-generation mobile messaging technology...

Axell Wireless, the worldwide provider of wireless coverage solutions, has launched the world’s first family of digital mini repeaters providing 2G, 3G and 4G coverage in all cellular frequency bands based on Axell Wireless’ patented DSP technology...

NFC retail payment and other POS services are set to gain traction in emerging markets following the announcement of a partnership between contactless network provider accells and Fundamo, the specialist mobile financial services provider...

One of Latin America’s leading electronic top-up service platforms, Movilway, is now expanding into Mexico to offer electronic top-up for prepaid users...

Talia is expanding its iDirect Evolution (DVB-S2) services to South America, served through Telesat Telstar 12, KU band. The same network provides services for the Middle East, Europe, Russia, North America, West, Central and East Africa...

Remote communities across Indonesia will soon enjoy the benefits of environmentall friendly mobile connectivity...

One of Ghana’s leading VAS providers is set to offer mobile voice content services to mobile operators in the West African country. Mobile Content.Com Ltd has partnered with VAS developer Kirusa for this new joint initiative...