Telcoflash: Telecom Market News

BskyB (UK) has extended the takeover offer for computer/electronic hardware maker Amstrad to September 4. Verizon Wireless, RealNetworls and MTV Networks will jointly launch Rhapsody America, designed to take on Apple's iTunes. T-Mobile, Orange and O2...

Telkom (South Africa) plans to invest up to $1bn in Nigeria' s fixed Wireless service provider, Multi-Links Limited. KPN is buying Belgian Tele2/ Versatel operations for €95m. Neuf Cegetel (France) will offer unlimited music downloads from Universal for...

Porta (Ecuador) will migrate its remaining TDMA subscribers to GSM by end of September. Movistar Ecuador will also migrate its TDMA subscribers to GSM and shut the network on December 31, 2008. Vodafone targets to get a 51% stake in the new GSM operator...

China Unicom added 1.5m mobile subscribers (of which 1.1m in GSM) in July bringing its total to 153.1m (of which 113.7m GSM). China Mobile added 5.6m new subscribers in July, bringing its total to 338m users. China would pass 500m mobile subscriber base...

China Unicom reports a 24% profit slide in 1H07 to $280m, on revenues climbing 5% to $6.5bn. Hutchison Telecom International posted 1H07 net profit of $9.1bn (including $8.8bn from the sale of its stake in India-based operator Essar to Vodafone), and...

Kim Sang-don has been appointed as the new CFO of LG Telecom. ALU announces departure of Mike Quigley (president of science, technology and strategy) and Frank D'Amelio (chief administrative officer). Etienne Fouques will overtake Mikes' s responsibilities,...

The Ultra Low Cost Handset market (or ULCH; another acronym to memorize) is the cheapest segment in mobile handsets. Typically made with sub-$50 phones, this new segment was launched when GSMA invited vendors to manufacture low cost products for emerging...

The Global Mobile Suppliers Association, the GSA, has released its latest market update. There were 2.54bn (+28.5% yoy) GSM mobile users at the end of June (over 85% of the global market), 360m CDMA users (+ 18% and 12% of the global market), and 75m...

Optical networking sales rose 20% to $3.5bn in 2Q07, their highest level in 6 years. All market segments report strength and growth, specially for metro and backbone WDM segments. Aggregation and multiservice products were doing well. Main market drivers...

In 2Q07, US mobile phone sales were estimated to be 33m units, down 17% sequentially, but 2Q is traditionally a slow sales quarter for mobile phone retailers. Sales were worth $2.4bn, up 14%; 62% of the sales were made via carrier stores, and 28% cost...