Seven mobile operators have entered into an alliance to cooperate globally in M2M business. Alliance members, KPN, NTT DoCoMo, Rogers, SingTel, Telefónica, Telstra and VimpelCom, will focus on further development of the M2M market and improvement of customer convenience. Through combining their efforts, the operators believe that they will have the scale to address the “complex and fragmented nature of the M2M market”. A global product, featuring a unique SIM, united web interface and centralised management of status of M2M devices globally, is being provided by the group.
Chinese equipment vendor Huawei has delivered its fibre/copper hybrid Giga DSL prototype to Swisscom. The prototype employs time division duplex technology to achieve a total upstream and downstream rate of 1,000Mbps over a single twisted pair within 100 metres and 500Mbps within 200 metres. It is also claimed to reduce radiation interference and power consumption. Huawei believes that Giga DSL will enhance the capabilities of its SingleFAN broadband access solution.
Cable & Wireless Communications has selected Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks to provide broadband internet and telephony connectivity across Panama. The network expansion includes solar powered VSAT satellite ground stations, as well as installation, maintenance and operation of SkyEdge hub equipment and VoIP gateways. It will be supported by outbound capacity from Telesat’s TelStar 11N satellite.
Eurofiber has announced the availability of 100G Ethernet services across its network in the Netherlands and Belgium. The upgrade is based on Infinera’s DTN platform and was carried out to allow Eurofiber’s customers to meet growing bandwidth demands from internet exchanges, data centres, cable companies and ISPs. “Rather than aggregating multiple 10GbE links to increase capacity, it is often more efficient to simply deploy a single 100GbE connection,” said Bart Oskam, managing director of Eurofiber.
Managed service provider Masergy has acquired cloud communications solutions company Broadcore Communications. The acquisition is intended to improve Masergy’s cloud service portfolio with cloud-based unified communications services, SIP trunking, mobility solutions and custom integration. The Broadcore service platform will be directly embedded into Masergy’s global MPLS network platform. The company will not be merged into Masergy, instead becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary.
BT Ireland is using Alcatel-Lucent’s IP equipment to support its recently launched IP Connect Ireland service. Alcatel-Lucent’s platform already provides Ethernet delivery for BT Ireland customers and with this selection will provide IP services to BT’s business customers as well. IP Connect Ireland will utilise the latest generation of Alcatel’s platform hardware and software to provide mission-critical business applications.
MTN Nigeria has reportedly launched wholesale services utilising the recently launched West African Cable System (WACS). The services are managed by MTN Business and will provide high-quality, low latency internet access to wholesalers, internet bandwidth resellers and carriers, as well as mobile users across the country, according to IT News Africa. MTN’s chief enterprise solutions officer, Babatunde Osho, told the publication that making use of WACS will allow internet users and businesses to boost their internet connections.
Bulgarian service provider Vivacom has committed to a broadband network upgrade to meet the goals of the EU’s Digital Agenda for next-generation broadband access. Alcatel-Lucent’s gigabit passive optical networking (GPON) solution has been selected for the upgrade and will provide one million Bulgarian households with higher connection speeds and increased service reliability. Vivacom will be providing 100Mbps services to customers in the cities of Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv in 2012, with other cities to follow in the future. The EU Digital Agenda has set goals of providing speeds of 100Mbps to half of European households and 30Mbps to all European households by 2020.
China Unicom has reportedly completed a public auction for an expansion of its W-CDMA network by 100,000 base stations. MENA Financial Network reports that the tender was valued at between $950 million and $1.1 billion with Huawei and ZTE winning 60% of the orders. The Chinese carrier intends to expand its 39% rural and suburban coverage to approximately 78% and improve capacity in urban areas.
Vietnam’s Viettel has contracted ZTE for the deployment of its Peruvian 2G/3G wireless network, as the operator prepares to enter the Latin American market. For the first phase of the project, ZTE will build more than 2,000 base stations. The vendor will provide its software-defined radio (SDR) based Uni-RAN solution for the deployment as well as operation management services.
AT&T has rolled out LTE services to six additional markets in the US but continues to trail behind Verizon in terms of market deployment. The launches in Buffalo, New York; Corpus Christi, Texas; Gainesville, Georgia; Burlington and Greensboro-Winston Salem, North Carolina; and Wichita in Kansas, bring AT&T’s LTE market total to 47, still well behind Verizon’s 304 locations.
Australian carrier Telstra is selling its struggling New Zealand subsidiary, TelstraClear, to Vodafone for approximately $675 million, in a transaction which should help the British operator to challenge the dominance of incumbent Telecom New Zealand. The acquisition was widely expected after the two revealed that they were in talks last month and includes TelstraClear’s voice and data-based services, network infrastructure and New Zealand customer base. The acquisition is subject to New Zealand regulatory approval which is expected to take a number of months.
