Wireless Networks

The customer base of ETK, the telco serving Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Republic of Khkassia, has exceeded 2 million subscribers. ETK is fully owned by Siberia's largest telco, Sibirtelecom, and with 40% of the local market is the leading company in Krasnoyarsk Krai, far outpacing its federal competitors. Today, it runs GSM-900/1800 and IMT-MC 450 networks...

Freescale Semiconductor is helping accelerate the build-out of China's Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA, a third-generation wireless standard that is being widely adopted throughout China) networks, leveraging deep industry relationships and a broad technology portfolio for wireless infrastructure equipment...

Nokia will launch Nokia Life Tools, a range of innovative agriculture information and education services targeted at non-urban consumers. Designed specifically for emerging markets, Nokia Life Tools helps overcome information constraints and provides services to this next generation of mobile users...

HP has announced a new blade platform designed to help service providers reduce costs and efficiently expand capacity...

iCON Communications, the newest provider of wireless broadband IP based communications services in Armenia, believes it is on track to launch its WiMAX service in Yerevan prior by January 2009, and extending its coverage into major cities in Armenia during 2009. WiMAX has been singloed out by iCON as extending the range and speed of existing wireless internet technologies by covering an entire geographic area rather than limited "hot-spots"...

Through its Wireless Reach initiative, Vodacom, supported by the GSMA Development Fund and Qualcomm, has connected Internet cafes in three of Tanzania's cities to its HSPA mobile broadband network, enabling locals to gain high-speed access to information and multimedia services...

Caribbean telecoms operators have enjoyed many successes in recent years, with the Dominican Republic boasting five million mobiles within a population of ten million. To support network expansion and coverage, local fixed/wireless operator Codetel has deployed Ceragon's FibeAir 3200T all-indoor wireless trunk solution...

Sixteen of the world's best known IT and mobile companies have united behind a GSMA-led initiative to create a new category of always-connected Mobile Broadband devices, intending to deliver an alternative to WiFi whereby customers will go online while on the move...

Sify, a pioneer and leader in data telecom and Internet services in India is to migrate its infrastructure to a Next Generation IP Network in a first of its kind deal with Cisco. The network aims to set new standards for the data telecom services industry in India...

O3b, the brainchild of American entrepreneur Greg Wyler, who most recently rolled out fibre optic cable networks in Rwanda with his company Terracom, is a development with great potential. Standing for the "Other 3 Billion", the company aims to deliver high speed, low cost broadband internet to developing markets...

TT&T is deploying the first Cisco WiMAX network in Asia Pacific at Mae Fah Luang University. Expected to help bridge the digital divide, this will also be the first production WiMAX network in Thailand...

To take advantage of the deregulated market in Poland, rapidly increasing traffic volumes and widening demand for services, Netia, the country's largest alternate carrier, was faced with a major challenge of upgrading its optical network. The solution entailed a radical shift in the core network design using the best technology available on the market. As a result Netia is now able to deliver revenue generating services including IPTV...

Keithley Instruments, which specialises in solutions for emerging measurement needs, is introducing what it believes to be the industry’s first measurement-grade 8x8 MIMO system. The system is used for primary research of next-generation RF MIMO devices and technologies.

Rural telecoms in Bangladesh are set to enjoy a boost with the news that Ericsson is launching a pilot scheme to show how high-speed Internet - directed via 3G/HSPA - can enhance life in the country's rural communities. 

Alcatel-Lucent has won a US$49 million contract right through 2011 by Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) to supply GSM/EDGE solutions to Vivatel, BTC’s GSM mobile subsidiary.

The Grameen Foundation is well known for pioneering telephone networks in rural surroundings. Its latest scene will allow two organisations to spend US$10,000 on building up village phone systems.

Synchronica, a provider of mobile email and synchronization solutions, is offering Mobile Gateway, its mass-market push email infrastructure software in response to major mobile operators in Africa wishing to provide affordable 'BlackBerry like' services...

Cornet-AM, an Internet services provider and part of the Comstar Group, has finished building the Republic of Armenia's first mobile WiMAX network...

Shyam Telelink, the Indian subsidiary of Sistema, has selected three vendors to supply equipment for construction of CDMA 800 MHz mobile network in India...

High-speed wireless Internet is now a reality in Argentina's San Luis Province, as the result of collaboration by Wavion, La Punta University and Xiden Networking. This is a pioneering project which brings free, wide-area Internet to a region of Argentina...

Sistema, the largest public diversified corporation in Russia and the CIS, which manages fast-growing companies within the consumer services sector, has announced that its Indian telecoms subsidiary Shyam Telelink has selected three vendors to supply equipment for construction of CDMA 800 MHz mobile network in India...

Mobile telephone service providers look set to extend their turf battles to the rural areas, where the cost factor is the only lure for consumers...

Tanla, a leading provider of Telecom infrastructure headquartered in Hyderabad, India has announced its acquisition of Openbit, of Tampere, Finland for $US18.6 million...

Despite significant advances to drive down capital costs for Mobile Network Operators, several key challenges still remain before the digital divide is able to be fully bridged. Transmission costs stand out as the No.1 barrier...

Vodacom Tanzania began trials of Nokia Siemens Networks Village Connection solution to connect rural and suburban communities earlier this year, following a successful development by NSN in India...

Aperto Networks has announced that Icosnet has deployed a WiMAX network using PacketMAX 5000 base stations and PacketMAX 100 subscriber units. There is a strong commercial aspect of the contract, whose customers will initially at least be businesses, banks and energy companies...

Vietnam's Ministry of Information and Communications has announced it will collaborate with Cisco to identify areas in which Cisco networking technologies and solutions can benefit the MIC's quest to accelerate the socio-economic development of Vietnam...

Aircom International, a mobile network planning and optimisation consultancy, has won a contract with Vietnamese mobile network operator Vinaphone to provide RF network planning, design support and surveying activities for the expansion of Vinaphone's GSM 900 network...

Peru's Universal Service Fund is launching a campaign to bring broadband to the country's rural backwaters. Designed ultimately to be taken over by an operator, the campaign is intended to benefit 1.5 million Peruvians in more than 3,500 isolated localities...

Alcatel-Lucent has been awarded the contract by Libya Telecom and Technology, the national Internet Service Provider in Libya, to deploy the first commercial WIMAX network in Libya...

Slovenian operator Tusmobil has placed a contract with Nokia Siemens to supply 400 base stations and a mobile switching solution to enhance the operator's core network...

Zain has achieved another first by bringing its groundbreaking borderless "One Network" mobile service to four countries in the Middle East. This service, which made telecom history when it was launched in Africa, today allows Zain's 14 million customers in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Sudan to be part of a pan Middle East mobile community, providing them the opportunity to communicate between these countries and be treated as local customers in terms of pricing, while using their home network service...

Altobridge has won a three-year, fully managed services contract with leading Mongolian mobile communications provider, MobiCom Corporation. The contract is for the provision of communications across rural Mongolia using Altobridge's unique GSM architecture, which enables operators to dramatically cut the costs of delivering communication services...