Mobile operator strategies - 15/02/07

The Bridge Mobile Alliance – a group of 9 Asian mobile operators including SingTel, SK T, Maxis or Bharti Airtel – has agreed to expand WCDMA coverage in Asia, develop common mobile services and jointly purchase 3G phones.

AT&T (Cingular Wireless) will use Qualcomm' s MediaFlo mobile network to deliver broadcast mobile TV at the end of 2007.

UK-based Omnifone will launch a new music service allowing to download songs from several major music labels for $4 a week.

China Mobile is building additional TD-SCDMA base stations in Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, and build new TD-SCDMA trial networks in five cities.

SK Telecom (S. Korea) will roll out its 3G network with national coverage by the end of March, two months earlier than expected.

Verizon Wireless agreed to sell its stake in CANTV (Venezuela) for $572m after the Hugo Chavez government decided to nationalize CANTV. It has bought West Virginia Wireless (USA), a GSM mobile operator.

Orange UK has debuted its HSDPA service, brabded as 3G+.

Teliasonera will open a HSDPA network service in Sweden in 1Q07.

DoCoMo trials 4G at Gbit/s.