Mobile operator strategies - 1/10/05

SFR (Fance) and Nokia are testing DVB-H-based mobile TV.

Cingular will offer new mobile TV services using the Helix OnlineTV platform from RealNetworks.

Alfa Group (Russia) is interested in participating in the auction of the government's 75% share in national telecom holding Svyazinvest.

NTT DoCoMo announced the development of the 3G FOMA® P901iTV, its first mobile handset to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting signals.

Hutchison Essar (India) has bought rival GSM operators, BPL Mumbai and BPL Mobile Cellular, for $1.2bn.

KTF (South Korea) plans to invest some $345m in W-CDMA installations.

SK Telecom (South Korea) may buy a stake in Tata Teleservices (India) for about $2-3bn.

Cosmorom (Romania) plans to invest €450m over the next three years to revamp its network.

China Mobile will launch mobile TV services this month.

Birla (India) is acquiring half of Cingular' s 33% stake in Idea Cellular (India).

China Mobile has won Yemen's third GSM license. It is its first overseas mobile license.

BT is back into mobile with the launch of a combined Wi-Fi, 3G and GPRS tariff, known as BT Datazone.