Telecommunication Report

Monday, July 31, 2006

Start-up offers low-cost VoIP calls from any mobile or landline phone

Start-up offers low-cost VoIP calls from any mobile or landline phone
By Larry Magid Special to the Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
31 Jul 2006

Millions of people are already using Skype, the Internet phone service, to make free or low-cost international calls. Even though Skype can be used to call people who have regular phones, you have to initiate the call from an Internet-connected... read more...

Russian firm makes $1.3-m mobile phone

Russian firm makes $1.3-m mobile phone:

Times of India New Delhi Edition
31 Jul 2006

A Moscowbased firm has launched production of what has been tagged as the world's costliest mobile phone. The Diamond Crypto Smartphone designed by luxury accessories maker Peter Aloisson is priced at a crisp $1.3 million and features a cover adorned... read more...

Friday, July 28, 2006

BT tries new strategy in battle of broadband

BT tries new strategy in battle of broadband
Nils Pratley Richard Wray
The Guardian
28 Jul 2006

BT is going on the front foot as it battles for broadband customers, aiming to persuade a million people to start making calls using their fast internet connections over the next 12 months. The target comes as BT’s largest rival in the UK residential... read more...

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Microchip profits soar as iPod and mobile sales boom

Microchip profits soar as iPod and mobile sales boom
Richard Wray
The Guardian
27 Jul 2006

Consumers’ apparently insatiable demand for gadgets, especially digital music players such as the iPod and mobile phones, yesterday helped two of the UK’s leading designers of microchips — CSR and Wolfson Microelectronics — report a more than doubling... read more...

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Is Skype really free?

Is Skype really free?
DAVID T DAVE ANHELUK
Bangkok Post
26 Jul 2006

Skype Internet from PC to PC is free. Or maybe not? My ISP logs the Skype download volume and at the end of the month, billsmewith excess charges. They are simplycapitalisingonthis ‘‘free’’ Internet service. Doany of your readers also suffer from such... read more...

Monday, July 24, 2006

As good as being there

As good as being there

New Zealand Herald
25 Jul 2006

Vodafone has begun ‘‘live streaming’’, which will give 3G phone users the ability to view events as they happen. The service will be launched with a free live concert by New Zealand band Evermore from Auckland tonight. Tim Nichols, head of Vodafone... read more...

MacLaurin valediction urges unity

MacLaurin valediction urges unity
By James Quinn Business Correspondent
Business
24 Jul 2006

LORD MacLaurin of Knebworth is to use his final public appearance as Vodafone chairman tomorrow to issue a rallying cry to his fellow directors at the mobile phone company. The Vodafone executive, who stands down to make way for former HSBC chairman... read more...

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Dell’s shock profit warning sends technology sector reeling

Dell’s shock profit warning sends technology sector reeling
Richard Wray
The Guardian
22 Jul 2006

Dell, the world’s largest maker of personal computers, yesterday warned that its quarterly profits will be well below Wall Street’s expectations as it battles against intense competition from second-placed Hewlett- Packard, China’s Lenovo and even a... read more...

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Sportingbet could face US court over telephone wagers



Sportingbet could face US court over telephone wagers
Simon Bowers and Andrew Clark New York
The Guardian
20 Jul 2006

Online gambling group Sportingbet has been quietly taking bets over the telephone from the US, the Guardian has learned. This could make the company a target of US prosecutors who have this week charged its smaller rival BetonSports over its alleged... read more...

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

O2 strategy sets out to burst Vodafone’s business bubble

O2 strategy sets out to burst Vodafone’s business bubble

The Business
16 Jul 2006

THE UK arm of Telefonica-owned mobile phone operator O2 has undertaken a strategic overhaul it believes will enable it to oust Vodafone from its slot as Britain’s leading mobile business communications company. The new strategy represents a shift away... read more...

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Broadband move makes dealers reach for BSkyB



Broadband move makes dealers reach for BSkyB
MARKET REPORT by Geoff Foster
Daily Mail
18 Jul 2006

MEDIA magnate Rupert Murdoch’s satellite giant BSkyB will today intensify competition in the crowded UK broadband market by rolling out its own cut-price offering. The shares rose 8p to 541p in anticipation even though Murdoch recently warned... read more...

Vodafone looks to Telecom to beat regulation



Vodafone looks to Telecom to beat regulation
by Jenny Keown telecommunications writer
New Zealand Herald
19 Jul 2006

Vodafone has made a last- ditch attempt to avoid Government regulation by proposing a new deal with Telecom on mobile termination rates, but it remains to be seen whether it will result in a lowering of fixed-line calls to mobiles. Mobile termination... read more...

Friday, July 14, 2006

EMI says Sony ruling will not block Warner deal



EMI says Sony ruling will not block Warner deal
By Dominic White Communication Industries Editor
Business
14 Jul 2006

EMI has suggested there is ‘‘no reason’’ to think Brussels would scupper its mooted 2.5bn takeover of Warner Music despite an unprecedented ruling that annulled the EU’s approval of the merger between its rivals Sony Music and BMG. News that the Sony... read more...

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Race on in fast mobile data



Race on in fast mobile data
Michael Sainsbury Telecommunications
Australian
11 Jul 2006

OPTUS and Vodafone will begin trials of high-speed mobile data technology on their shared third-generation network from next month as they push to keep pace with rivals Telstra and Hutchison. The high-speed network upgrade is expected to cost $100... read more...

Investor group backs Vodafone pay deal



Investor group backs Vodafone pay deal
By Dominic White
Business
11 Jul 2006

VODAFONE will receive a much-needed boost today when a powerful investor advisory body recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the mobile phone company’s controversial executive pay deal. RREV, the corporate governance group that advises some... read more...