PLUS Communication now offers nationwide high-quality, consistent services | Nokia Siemens Networks

PLUS Communication now offers nationwide high-quality, consistent services | Nokia Siemens Networks:

Nokia Siemens Networks extends coverage of operator’s GSM/EDGE radio and core network under three-year frame agreement

PLUS Communication sh.a, the latest telecom entrant in Albania, now offers high-quality voice and data services across the country, allowing users to retain their existing phone numbers when switching to its services. The operator has increased the geographical coverage of its 3G-ready GSM/EDGE radio and core nework supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks to more than 85% and implemented mobile number portability.

PLUS Communication launched its telecom operations in November 2010. The Authority of Electronic and Postal Communications, the Albanian telecommunications regulator, has validated the network coverage and the high quality of service (QoS).

“PLUS Communication is focused on developing the mobile broadband market in Albania and offering a superior experience to our subscribers. With Nokia Siemens Networks’ world-class equipment and speedy implementation, we have been able to provide uninterrupted, high-quality voice and data services to nearly all parts of the country. We are now looking forward to completing the network deployment and reaching out to the underserved areas of Albania,” said Moni Buchnik, chief executive officer, PLUS Communication.

“Drawing on our experience of rapid and cost-effective network deployments across the world, we were able to build PLUS Communication’s network in record time. In line with the operator’s endeavor to become the service provider of choice in Albania, we continue to ensure the quality of service remains high,” said João Picoito, head of South East Europe region, Nokia Siemens Networks.

Under the three-year frame agreement*, Nokia Siemens Networks is supplying complete 3G-ready GSM/EDGE radio access as well as packet and circuit switched core network, including its award-winning, energy-efficient Flexi Multiradio Base Station. It is also providing a full range of services including network design, implementation, maintenance and care, as well as its NetAct network management system to monitor, manage and optimize the operator’s network.

Improved mobile broadband coverage, faster data speeds for Polkomtel subscribers | Nokia Siemens Networks

Improved mobile broadband coverage, faster data speeds for Polkomtel subscribers | Nokia Siemens Networks:

Polkomtel S.A., Poland’s leading mobile operator, now offers improved mobile broadband services with better indoor coverage and wider reach beyond the country’s big cities. Nokia Siemens Networks has modernized the operator’s GSM network and expanded its 3G/HSPA+ network to enable new services using the 900 MHz frequency band. Nokia Siemens Networks also upgraded Polkomtel’s packet core network to the latest ATCA* technology for faster roll-out of advanced data services.

As part of the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks also enabled radio access network sharing between Polkomtel and Aero2, another Polish telecom operator, which will save costs for both operators.

“It is very important for Polkomtel to extend mobile broadband access to all parts of the country and to offer services and applications that will benefit both people and businesses,” said Jaroslaw Bauc, member of the Polkomtel Board. “With Nokia Siemens Networks, we successfully launched new 3G/HSPA+ services by using a 900 MHz band refarming solution as a supplement to our existing 2.1 GHz services. This resulted in improved coverage and quality of our mobile broadband offering.”

In just four weeks, Nokia Siemens Networks deployed 500 Flexi Multiradio Base Stations, part of its LTE-ready Single RAN (radio access network) solution. It also enabled existing GSM sites to be reused without requiring any additional external combiners, filters or dedicated antennas, thereby saving costs while maintaining GSM quality and capacity. In addition, the contract includes the ATCA-based Flexi Network Server, part of the Nokia Siemens Networks Liquid Core architecture. It provides high transaction capacity to accommodate increased signaling load and ensures a seamless evolution to 4G.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ NetAct network management system will ensure optimal monitoring and management of the GSM and 3G/HSPA+ networks as well as the multi-operator core network (MOCN). Nokia Siemens Networks provided a range of services to Polkomtel such as network implementation, integration, and a full set of care services including hardware and software maintenance and competence development.

“By using spectrum in the 900 MHz band, operators can extend mobile broadband to rural areas and offer improved indoor coverage, where most data consumption takes place,” said Radomir Grucza, head of Nokia Siemens Networks in Poland. “In addition, using the 900 MHz band saves implementation and operation costs due to lower hardware requirements. Operators can thus offer high-quality experience to their customers without having to make significant hardware investments.”

To share your thoughts on the topic, join the discussion on Twitter using #mobilebroadband.

Swisscom users to benefit from LTE and mobile-network modernization - Ericsson

Swisscom users to benefit from LTE and mobile-network modernization - Ericsson:

December 21, 2011

Swisscom, Switzerland's largest mobile and fixed operator, extends its partnership with Ericsson for mobile-network modernization and upgrade to LTE

Modernization will cater for future mobile-data growth, expected to double every twelve months

As part of the five-year contract, Ericsson will modernize 6,000 mobile sites and optimize networks

Swiss consumers are enjoying data-rich services like never before. With mobile-data usage expected to double during the year, Swisscom has entered into a five-year contract with Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) for mobile-network modernization and upgrade to LTE. The deal will ensure that Swisscom can continue to offer its users the best possible network in the most efficient way.

Ericsson will modernize 6,000 mobile sites with its RBS 6000 multi-standard radio base stations and optimize all of Swisscom's networks. The operator's mobile-data users all over the country - and especially those living in areas where traffic is dense, such as in inner cities - will benefit from faster speeds as a result.

By making Ericsson the sole supplier for the modernization of its existing mobile-core and radio network, and the introduction of LTE, Swisscom extends its existing partnership, in which Ericsson has been the sole 2G, 3G radio and main mobile core supplier.

Heinz Herren, Head of Network & IT, Swisscom, says: "By continuing to provide our subscribers with the best network possible while meeting the growing usage of mobile data, we will invest several hundred million Swiss Francs in mobile-network modernization over the next five years. Thanks to our long-lasting partnership, we are familiar with Ericsson's expertise in deploying new technologies, and we have already established processes that will allow us to make savings in this project."

Anders Runevad, Head of Region Western & Central Europe at Ericsson says: "We are pleased to help Swisscom introduce LTE and allow its users to enjoy the benefits of LTE on their smartphones, laptops and tablets. As Ericsson sees mobility and broadband as pillars of the Networked Society, in which everyone and everything is connected, this extended partnership marks yet another step towards realizing that vision."

Under the five-year contract, Ericsson will deliver core network, multi-standard radio base stations for 2G, 3G and 4G, as well as related installation services for the swap of the existing infrastructure. This includes software, hardware and the introduction of small cells, mostly in traffic-dense areas. With this deployment Swisscom will have GSM, WCDMA and LTE access networks. A key component in the core network is therefore Ericsson's SGSN-MME node, which supports all three access technologies.The rollout will start in January 2012 and all mobile sites will be modernized by mid 2014.

Virgin Media, UK’s Leading Quad-Play Provider, Selects Amdocs to Consolidate Network Inventory

Virgin Media, UK’s Leading Quad-Play Provider, Selects Amdocs to Consolidate Network Inventory

ST. LOUIS - December 13, 2011 - Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), the leading provider of customer experience systems, today announced that Virgin Media, the UK's leading digital entertainment provider, has selected Amdocs to evolve its network inventory management systems. Amdocs will be responsible for the project's overall system integration, end-to-end implementation, and program management. The Amdocs OSS inventory solution, delivered with Amdocs' consulting and implementation services, will enable Virgin Media to improve network design, planning and assurance, giving increased customer service levels.

Using the Amdocs CES inventory management products and by re-engineering several key business processes such as data reconciliation, Virgin Media will be able to centralize and integrate logical network assets (such as VPNs) and physical assets (such as switches and ports) in its inventory management systems to provide accurate, real-time inventory data in a single location. In addition, the new system, that includes network capacity management, will provide detailed capacity reporting. As a result, Virgin Media will be able to further improve customer order processing, fault management, change control auditing, and more efficiently choose and plan the right uplifts in overall capacity.

"As a result of this project, Amdocs will help us to avoid congestion, reduce order fallout and shorten outages, providing our customers with a better quality of service at a competitive price," said Paul Buttery, Virgin Media's chief customer, technology and networks officer. "We will also be able to achieve cost savings by obtaining a clearer picture of our other licensed operator (OLO) purchasing patterns."

"With the data capacity crunch affecting networks worldwide, Virgin Media has taken an important step to improve its ability to provide effective planning and resourcing to give their customers a differentiated customer experience,” said Rebecca Prudhomme, Amdocs vice president for product and solutions marketing. "With the new system, they will deliver the right experience for their customers with improved sales, provisioning and assurance.”

Virgin Media was the UK's first quad-play provider of broadband, TV, phone and mobile, and is the UK's only telecom provider with a nationwide, fiber-optic, next generation network.

AdaptiveMobile launches next generation Network Protection Platform

AdaptiveMobile launches next generation Network Protection Platform:

- AdaptiveMobile, the world leader in mobile security, today announces the launch of its next generation multi-bearer Network Protection Platform(NPP), offering new security capabilities for hosted corporate offerings, secure machine to machine services and dynamic network-wide visibility of real-time threats affecting subscribers, delivering up to 300% increased return on hardware investment. AdaptiveMobile’s NPP will enable mobile and fixed operators throughout the world to ensure their customers have an enhanced level of protection from the ever-changing mobile security risks associated with the rising popularity of smartphones, tablet and other 3G-connected devices.

Release 4 of AdaptiveMobile’s Network Protection Platform offers operators:

Greater control over content services delivered across their network:

Operators can provide greater control to their subscribers over value-added content services, to prevent spam and malware from social media sites over SMS; and meet stricter regulatory controls over unsolicited messaging.

Blending local and global mobile threat protection:

Responding to the hyper-local SMS spam and mobile fraud campaigns, Release 4 provides automated in-network tuning and signature creation, supported by global collection, analysis and fingerprinting of SMS, IM and malware threats.

Scale for LTE and Fixed Line Carriers:

Delivering the capacity to scale through 40Gb and beyond and leverage investments made in DPI infrastructure while still maintaining the individual policy and behavioural analysis necessary to identify and remediate the sources of abuse, and provide parents and individuals with control over their own online experience.

Real-time threat dashboards:

Giving operators the tools to identify and act upon the sources of threats within their network, giving real-time control of frauds and spam.

Corporate Security As A Service

: Allowing operators to offer fixed and mobile SecAAS to their corporate users to meet industry regulation, and retain key corporate accounts.

Machine to Machine Security

: Providing operators with network-centric security to protect embedded device networks and applications from unauthorised access, command and control messages and security attacks.

“With operators’ networks now the gateway to voice, text and data communications, it is critical they do everything within their power to keep their customers safe from the increasing number of sophisticated mobile security risks,” says Gareth Maclachlan, Chief Operating Officer, AdaptiveMobile. “It has become clear that a ‘piecemeal’ or client-centric approach to protecting networks and subscribers is simply no longer sufficient and with many operators now handling machine to machine data traffic in addition to the consumer and corporate data services, only our holistic, multi-bearer approach to security can provide complete peace of mind.”

Nokia Siemens Networks launches industry’s first TD-LTE ‘6 pipes’ remote radio head | Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks launches industry’s first TD-LTE ‘6 pipes’ remote radio head | Nokia Siemens Networks:

Nokia Siemens Networks has introduced a Liquid Radio-based ‘6 pipes’ remote radio head* that uses the company’s unique pipe approach to offer unprecedented flexibility in delivering TD-LTE.

“Our new, high-capacity 6 pipes remote radio head is a great addition to our TD-LTE RAN (Radio Access Network) portfolio and promises to take the TD-LTE experience to the next level,” said Tommi Uitto, head of the LTE radio access business line at Nokia Siemens Networks. “In addition to enabling a more flexible approach to TD-LTE, the new product delivers much higher throughput and lower latency than other offerings, to enable higher data speeds. Subscribers can thus enjoy the same level of mobile broadband, anywhere and everywhere, no matter what applications they’re using.”

By covering three sectors with a single radio head**, operators can reduce site costs by up to one-third. It is the first remote radio head that can support a 6-sector TD-LTE site to deliver 80% more capacity and 40% more coverage as compared to traditional 3-sector sites. This enables higher data speeds, and reduces total cost of ownership by 40%.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ pipe concept offers a cost-effective, future-proof alternative to the current ‘path’-based approaches, allowing more flexible allocation of sectors, carriers and transmit and receive channels by a base station. It can do multiple configurations, starting with a simple, low-cost, 3-sector site configuration and scaling to a high-capacity, 6-sector site configuration, when needed. Further, a simple software upgrade offers a smooth evolution path to LTE-Advanced.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ 6 pipes remote radio head is based on the company’s Liquid Radio*** architecture, which self-adapts coverage and capacity based on subscriber demand. The offering’s unique 6 pipes beamforming feature mitigates signal loss due to interference****. This helps deliver up to 50% higher data speeds and improved coverage, compared to 4 path radio heads, for subscribers in high-density areas, both indoors and outdoors. This feature also eliminates the need for additional sites, and reduces CAPEX, OPEX and site costs.

The offering is 3GPP standardized and is now commercially available globally.

Nokia Siemens Networks triples CDMA base station capacity | Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks triples CDMA base station capacity | Nokia Siemens Networks:

1X Advanced feature for CDMA2000 offers superior voice quality, expands data services

A new feature from Nokia Siemens Networks allows CDMA operators to offer significantly improved voice quality and coverage, and expand their mobile broadband services, while protecting their network investments. Nokia Siemens Networks is expanding its CDMA2000 portfolio with the launch of 1X Advanced technology, which can triple existing base station capacity when fully implemented. Operators can use this additional capacity to handle much greater volumes of voice or data traffic in dense metros or to improve coverage.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ 1X Advanced feature can expand base station capacity in a more energy efficient and cost effective manner. The company’s 1X Advanced capable equipment is more power efficient for a given amount of traffic than existing 1X solutions. Implementation is economical, with a simple board upgrade to the existing base-station. Operators will be able to realize even greater performance with future software upgrades.

“We see 1X Advanced as the next step in the evolution of CDMA2000, and are fully committed to investing and building our capabilities in this technology,” says Scott Mottonen, head of the CDMA/LTE business line at Nokia Siemens Networks. “As subscriber demand can be quite extreme and variable over time, CDMA operators must be able to improve network performance while keeping costs low. 1X Advanced satisfies this need by offering a cost-effective upgrade of existing network assets, while vastly enhancing quality of experience.”

Nokia Siemens Networks’ 1X Advanced capable equipment will be commercially available by the end of 2011.

Renewable energy powers Vip mobile in central Serbia | Nokia Siemens Networks

Renewable energy powers Vip mobile in central Serbia | Nokia Siemens Networks:

Vip mobile, the youngest of Serbia’s three mobile operators, is running a base station powered by solar and wind energy as part of a trial into renewal energy. The site provides coverage to several kilometers along the Belgrade-Nis highway that has no electricity grid connectivity. The operator is using Nokia Siemens Networks’ Energy Solutions, which can reduce the use of diesel generators at sites by as much as 90%.

“We are committed to extending network connectivity to under-served areas of the country, while ensuring the environmental impact of our overall operations remains limited. Renewable energy addresses these requirements by minimizing our reliance on diesel generators to power telecom infrastructure in areas with limited or no grid connectivity,” said Rene Schiefer, head of Access Network at Vip mobile. “Nokia Siemens Networks brings strong understanding of telecom network power requirements and management to provide a solution that helps us lower carbon dioxide emissions.”

The Off-Grid Site Solution provided by Nokia Siemens Networks uses solar panels, wind turbines, deep cycling batteries, alongside diesel generators for backup, and a “Green Energy Controller” that manages these components. The solution typically reduces the diesel generator runtime from 24 hours to an average of less than 3 hours per day.

As part of the six-month trial, Nokia Siemens Networks has enabled remote energy management of the site through its NetAct network management platform. This enables Vip mobile to monitor all green energy components anytime and eliminates the need for physical visits to install and maintain new software. The solution increases site reliability by ensuring round-the-clock power availability, providing return on investment in less than three years.

“Nokia Siemens Networks is committed to helping telecom operators reduce the cost of running their networks and strengthen their credentials as environmentally responsible organizations. With more than 80 percent of an operator’s total energy consumption taking place in the network, there is a large scope for them to minimize both their energy costs and carbon footprint by tapping renewable energy. Our Energy Solutions optimize this potential and provide a cost-effective transition to more energy-efficient networks,” said Josef Fuhl, head of the customer business team for Austria at Nokia Siemens Networks.

Telefónica selects Giesecke & Devrient to deliver seamless NFC solutions across Europe

Telefónica selects Giesecke & Devrient to deliver seamless NFC solutions across Europe

Madrid, Munich, 2nd December, 2011 – Telefónica’s new Digital unit and Giesecke & Devrient have reached an agreement to establish a single European-wide platform for Near Field Communication (NFC) services. By the terms of this agreement, Giesecke & Devrient will provide the Trusted Service Manager (TSM) technology required for this solution, such as over-the-air (OTA) transfer and personalization of NFC applications.Giesecke & Devrient will also deliver the life cycle management of Telefónica’s NFC application platform and will be one of the suppliers of NFC-enabled SIM cards.

Telefónica will introduce new NFC-based services,made available to end users through a wallet application, starting with deployment in Europe over the next few months. This new NFC management platform on Telefónica’s network will also be made available to third-party service providers, including financial institutions, transit operators, and loyalty partners.

Giesecke & Devrient’s TSM solution comprises a whole range of functions to manage NFC services over the air via the wireless network. These include administration, personalization, and software updates for NFC-enabled SIM cards.

Joaquín Mata, Global Head of Financial Services at Telefónica Digital said: 'The final goal for Telefónica is to build an open NFC ecosystem ensuring interoperability and offering service providers a friendly environment to deliver NFC services reaching a large number of mobile subscribers. Giesecke & Devrient is one of Telefónica’s strategic partners in building this new ecosystem and has the required technological know-how to turn NFC services in a commercial reality.'

Michael Kuemmerle, member of the Management Board and Group Executive of Mobile Security at G&D, said: 'Our innovative TSM solutions give network operators and service providers a way to introduce innovative NFC services quickly, easily, and securely. The wireless network offers a great deal of flexibility in the administration of these services. We are very pleased that Telefónica has chosen to work with us as their trusted partner; their decision underlines our global technology and service leadership in this promising market.'

NFC-enabled devices can communicate wirelessly over a range of a few centimeters. This makes the technology suitable for a host of new services, such as payment with cell phones, access to public transportation or redemption of coupons in loyalty programmes.

Telefonica has been working hard on NFC technology the last years to acquire all the necessary expertise and know-how and be one of the industry leaders on this field. After running a number of successful commercial trials in different locations like Sitges (for payments), Pilsen (for transportation), Distrito NFC (with employees covering several use cases) and other locations, now is the right time to plan a wide deployment of NFC services.

Financial services is a key focus area for Telefónica’s new Digital division which has been formed to lead its growth in the new digital world. Through a combination of research and development, partnership, investment and acquisition, Telefónica Digital will bring innovative products and services to market that allow it to drive continued growth in the core telecommunications market, as well as in new digital service areas.

Vodafone Acquires Bluefish Communications

Vodafone Acquires Bluefish Communications

Vodafone Global Enterprise – the business within Vodafone which manages the communications needs of its largest multinational customers – is strengthening its professional services arm through the acquisition of European IT and communications consultancy, Bluefish Communications Ltd.

Bluefish will form the nucleus of a new Unified Communications and Collaboration practice within Vodafone Global Enterprise, which will focus on advising multinational companies on how to get the most from their mobile, fixed line and IT services, as well as offering guidance on the adoption of cloud services.

The practice will also advise large corporate customers on how new collaboration services, such as video conferencing and presence awareness, can boost their business’s performance. Unified Communications seeks to make fixed and mobile communications more efficient, optimise and reduce costs, and enable better collaboration between employees, business partners and clients. Bluefish has been recognised as one of the fastest growing technology companies in both the UK and Europe. The acquisition will expand Bluefish’s geographical reach as it becomes part of Vodafone Global Enterprise’s global team.

Further services on offer to Vodafone’s multinational customers will include:

- An audit of existing infrastructure and future communication needs.

- Advice on moving to a communications strategy that spans mobile, fixed line and IT.

- Management of system integrators and vendors to ensure an effective and unified communications network closely aligned to business strategy.

Nick Jeffery, CEO of Vodafone Global Enterprise said: “The acquisition of Bluefish further develops our expertise in unified communications and broadens the range of services we can offer to our multinational customers. Having the right information at the right time, in the right place, has never been more important to business success and this acquisition will enhance our ability to advise multinationals on how to maximise value from their communications.”

The value of the gross assets being acquired is £3.14m.

Telefónica presents its vision for smart cities based on M2M solutions

Telefónica presents its vision for smart cities based on M2M solutions

Madrid, 29 November 2011.- Barcelona opens its doors today to the SmartCity Expo, the first European event with a global focus on smart cities. This is a forum in which companies in the sector, government bodies and research centres can share plans to drive sustainable economic and environmental growth in cities, as well as provide solutions to address growing population density.

In 2011, half of the world's population lives in cities and this number is expected to increase to 70% by 2050. Furthermore, by 2016, 30% will live in megacities, known as such because they will have a population of more than 25 million people.

With this in mind, Telefónica envisages wide use of ICT from ubiquitous communications and sensor networks to new procedures involving interaction between machines (M2M solutions). Integration and interoperability will be necessary for the solutions that are developed to support city infrastructures. Global sponsor of the fair, Telefónica’s value proposal focuses on a combination of key components like energy, the economy, looking after the environment, health and safety.

Within this framework, Telefónica has presented today in Barcelona its vision of the development of future smart cities based on M2M (machine to machine connection) services, such as Smart Building, Smart Grid, Electric Vehicles and Telemedicine solutions, among others.

Telefónica is in the midst of the process of transforming itself to be a frontrunner in the new digital environment with the creation of Telefónica Digital, a new entity focused on seizing opportunities arising in the digital world and helping Telefónica grow through research and development, venture capital initiatives, global alliances and digital services like cloud computing, mobile advertising and M2M solutions.

Nokia Siemens Networks to deliver live 4G network in London for O2 trial | Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks to deliver live 4G network in London for O2 trial

Nokia Siemens Networks is working with O2 to provide LTE* (Long Term Evolution) services on a trial** basis to select users in London. LTE is a fourth generation (4G) mobile technology that can provide uninterrupted broadband access to bandwidth-hungry applications, including peak data speeds of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps). Nokia Siemens Networks is the sole supplier of the LTE core network and up to 25 LTE base station sites. Select users in The O2, a world-class entertainment complex, will also enjoy LTE services.

“This LTE trial is in line with our constant efforts to deliver the best possible user experience, and comes soon after Ofcom countrywide tests showed O2’s mobile broadband network ranked first in terms of mobile speed***,” said Rob Joyce, head of LTE for O2. “As data use increases exponentially, LTE technology with its higher data rates, better network capacity and low latency will play a crucial role, and we’re pleased to be working with Nokia Siemens Networks to deploy this technology.”

“We are committed to driving the adoption of LTE technology globally, and are working with O2 to drive it in the UK to demonstrate its true potential,” added Rob Stent, head of the Telefónica UK customer team for Nokia Siemens Networks. “We are applying our solution expertise and project management experience from successful LTE commercial networks and trials across the globe to enable O2’s vision of providing a superior customer experience with ultra high-speed broadband services.”

Under the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will provide its 2600MHz LTE radio equipment, Evolved Packet Core technology****, Home Subscriber Server and FlexiPacket Microwave Radio nodes. The company will also provide comprehensive managed services, including network design and planning, deployment and optimization services as well as full care support for the LTE trial network. Nokia Siemens Networks’ NetAct operations support system will enable effective monitoring and management of the network.

Telefónica and Giesecke & Devrient team up on flexible Over-The-Air personalization of M2M SIMs

Telefónica and Giesecke & Devrient team up on flexible Over-The-Air personalization of M2M SIMs

Madrid-Munich, 14th November 2011.- Telefónica and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) developed and successfully proved a secure, pre-standard solution for remotely managing M2M SIMs subscription data based on the principles of the embedded SIM. A live test has proven the secure transfer of a subscription from Telefónica Spain to a Telefónica UK one over the air. With this type of remote subscription management, device makers can manufacture devices with M2M SIMs on a cost optimised production setup, while mobile network operators (MNOs) can customize their M2M connectivity offerings for this specific target market.

This solution will enable Telefónica and its partners to provide global services to their customers based on a unique SIM quite adapted to the local requirements. Secure profiles from MNOs can be loaded later in the supply chain, including post-sale, and their profiles can be revised during the lifetime of the device. It will, among others, allow a simple swapping of MNOs to support a change of subscription, a network upgrade or swap out, a change of device ownership or long term relocations.

With this trial, and in cooperation with Samsung and Telit Wireless Solutions, both G&D and Telefónica demonstrate that the solution for remote subscription management works. This successful test will also provide important input for the ongoing standarization in order to improve the subscription management concept.

Main cornerstones of this trial are the subscription management enabled M2M SIMs, a subscription management platform -hosted in a secure G&D environment- and an MNO specific portal developed by Telefonica.

Involving two MNOs, the demo allows to test different key aspects of this M2M solution such as loading of a subscription, transfer of subscription to other device, remote loading on a second mobile operator subscription, remote deletion and the subscription management platform user interface (GUI), from G&D, as a trigger for all events.

'The subscription management of the SIM will enable Telefónica to provide the best solution based on a global SIM and consequently the usage of M2M devices in new, innovative applications across the world,' says Carlos Morales, Global M2M, Cloud and Apps Director at Telefónica Digital.

'There are many advantages to the highly secure remote management of credentials on embedded SIMs for the M2M environment. We are helping to drive the migration of today´s SIM card personalization to an OTA-based process where security is as paramount as in today’s personalization scenarios ' says Dr. Klaus Vedder, Group Senior Vice President Mobile Strategy at G&D.

G&D's and Telefónica's activities are based on the good partnership and long term experience in the M2M market and the secure OTA management of SIM relevant services. This trial highlights the commercial and technical opportunities of subscription management for mobile operators and drives the standardization of just-in-time provisioning of SIM credentials.

VIMPELCOM DELIVERS STRONG SUBSCRIBER GROWTH AND DOUBLE-DIGIT TOP LINE INCREASE IN 3Q11

JO LUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMMENTS:

“We are satisfied with the solid performance we have achieved across our business units in the third quarter during which we have achieved double-digit top-line growth and surpassed the 200 million subscriber mark in October. Our cash flow of USD 1.9 billion from operations remains strong, increasing by almost 70%, however our net result declined mainly due to non-cash items. In Russia, even though we achieved strong revenue and subscriber growth, it was offset by an increase in costs leading to declining profitability. In line with our announced strategy, we will focus on cash flow growth in this market by tackling the key issues through an operational excellence program we have implemented and by leveraging the synergies of the enlarged VimpelCom. The integration process with Wind telecom is ahead of schedule and will be completed by year end. We have already secured synergies of USD 1.9 billion on an NPV basis out of the USD 2.5 billion committed.

Looking ahead, we will maintain our focus on delivering on our value agenda by driving sustainable, profitable growth and improving our operational excellence and capital efficiency, leading to increased cash flows. We will provide more details on our strategy tomorrow at our Analyst and Investor Day in Amsterdam.”

London named European hub for Huawei innovation in smartphone design

[Basingstoke, November 10, 2011]: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, is to open a dedicated European design centre for its Mobile Device business in the heart of London.

Huawei expects to open its new London Design Centre (LDC) in Q1 2012. The Huawei LDC will be headed by Huawei Device UK and Ireland Executive Vice President Mark Mitchinson, who will be supported by Huawei Device Creative Director for ID Europe Andy Davey.

Huawei is to recruit a team of world leading designers to drive new product conception, design and development in order to deliver groundbreaking design thinking and solutions in the European smartphone market.

Huawei's LDC will help drive growth of the company's market share in smartphones across Europe. The centre will focus Huawei's design capability, and enable it to respond to local customer and market demands in a dynamic and nimble way. It demonstrates Huawei's clear and strategic commitment to the operator and retailer customers and consumers in the UK and European markets.

Plans for the LDC come as Huawei announces new additions to its European smartphone portfolio, in the shape of its Huawei Vision smartphone and Huawei MediaPad tablet.

Richard Ren, Huawei Device President of West Europe, said: "The Huawei LDC demonstrates we are absolutely committed to the UK and Europe for the launch of our new smartphone products and brand. The LDC will enable us to grow smartphone market share in Europe through customer insight, focus and collaboration. Through Mark's leadership, creativity and knowhow, Huawei will attract the best talent in design from around the globe to our LDC."

Mark Mitchinson, Huawei Device UK and Ireland Executive Vice President, said: "The Huawei LDC will give us clear differentiation in a fiercely competitive European market as we launch new and innovative smartphones and build a compelling brand story. The LDC will enable us to better serve all of our customers in the years ahead, without compromise. Great design spans borders but a local market driven focus and understanding is critical to our future success."

Vodafone announces completion of the disposal of its stake in Polkomtel

Vodafone announces completion of the disposal of its stake in Polkomtel

Further to the announcement on 30 June 2011, and following clearance of the transaction by the Polish competition authority, Vodafone1 today announces the completion of the disposal of its entire 24.4% interest in Polkomtel in Poland.

Vodafone has received a cash consideration of approximately €920 million (£790 million2) from Spartan Capital Holdings SP. z o.o before tax and transaction costs.

Half-year financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2011 - Vodafone

Half-year financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2011 - Vodafone

Consistent results: growth, investment, cash generation, shareholder returns

Q2 Group organic service revenue growth +1.3%(*); Europe -1.2%(*), AMAP +8.2%(*)

H1 EBITDA up 2.3% to £7.5 billion; EBITDA margin 32.0%, down 0.6 percentage points, as expected

Adjusted operating profit £6.0 billion; full year guidance now improved to £11.4 – £11.8 billion

Free cash flow £2.6 billion; full year guidance of £6.0 – £6.5 billion confirmed(1)

Interim dividend 3.05 pence, up 7.0%; special dividend of 4.0 pence to be paid at the same time

Continued progress on strategic delivery

Data revenue +23.8%(*), with smartphone penetration in Europe rising to 21.7% in Q2; 24% of consumer contract customers in Europe(2) are on integrated voice, SMS and data tariffs

Enterprise revenue +2.6%(*), driven by new account wins, growth in demand for converged services and increasing penetration of existing clients

Continued strong momentum in emerging markets: India service revenue +18.4%(*), Turkey +27.9%(*), Vodacom +7.3%(*)

Increased focus on new services: M-Pesa now in 7 markets with 27 million registered users; charge-tobill launched in Europe; machine-to-machine revenue up 33%(*) with 6.2 million SIMs

£2.8 billion dividend from Verizon Wireless due January 2012, with £2.0 billion special dividend to be paid to Vodafone shareholders; SFR stake sold, with £4.0 billion committed to a share buyback

Ericsson predicts Mobile Data Traffic to grow 10-fold by 2016 - Ericsson

Ericsson predicts Mobile Data Traffic to grow 10-fold by 2016

In its new Traffic and Market Data report, which provides insights into current trends, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) forecasts a 10-fold increase in mobile data traffic by 2016. The report is based on measurements the company recorded over several years in live networks covering all regions of the world.

Johan Wibergh, Head of Ericsson Business Unit Networks, says: "Ericsson performs a broad range of measurements in order to monitor the pulse of the Networked Society - measurements that we use to efficiently design our products and plan networks. This report offers snapshots that, together, show how a growing number of people and businesses benefit from mobility, broadband and the cloud."

According to the report, mobile broadband subscriptions will reach almost 5 billion in 2016, up from the expected 900 million by the end of 2011.That would represent 60 percent year-on-year growth, at the same time as the data consumed by smartphone users is surging. Total smartphone traffic is expected to triple during 2011.

Across all devices, internet access will continue to drive mobile traffic development and mobile data traffic is expected to grow by nearly 60 percent per year between 2011 and 2016, mainly driven by video.

Other highlights from the report:

By 2016 more than 30 percent of the world's population will live in metropolitan and urban areas with a density of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer. These areas represent less than 1 percent of the Earth's total land area, yet they are set to generate around 60 percent of total mobile traffic.

Mobile broadband, new smartphone launches and applications uptake will continue to drive data consumption. At the same time, there is strong momentum for smartphone uptake in all regions. Ericsson expects traffic generated by advanced smartphones to increase 12-fold to roughly equal mobile PC-generated traffic by 2016.

Ericsson's presence in more than 180 countries, where it supports more than 1,000 networks, enables it to measure mobile voice and data volumes. The result is a representative base for calculating world total mobile traffic in 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.

DragonWave plans to acquire Nokia Siemens Networks microwave transport business

DragonWave plans to acquire Nokia Siemens Networks microwave transport business

DragonWave, Inc. (TSX: DWI; NASDAQ: DRWI) plans to acquire Nokia Siemens Networks’ microwave transport business, including its associated operational support systems (OSS) and related support functions (the “business”). Under the terms of the “Master Acquisition Agreement” signed today, as well as acquiring the business, DragonWave would also become the preferred, strategic supplier to Nokia Siemens Networks of packet microwave and related products, and the companies would jointly coordinate technology development activities. The planned transaction is subject to any applicable regulatory, exchange and third party approvals, a consultation process with trade union representatives, and other customary terms and conditions.

Nokia Siemens Networks and DragonWave believe the proposed acquisition and supply agreements would accelerate innovation in backhaul products, supporting world class microwave solutions for mobile operators. The companies aim to complete the planned acquisition and supply agreements in the first quarter 2012 (the “closing date”).

Following the proposed acquisition, Nokia Siemens Networks would retain responsibility for its existing solution sales and associated services for microwave transport, while DragonWave would be responsible for the product line, including R&D, product management and operations functions.

“Through this strategic relationship, customers would continue to receive high-quality services and sales support from Nokia Siemens Networks, while DragonWave’s best of breed products would ensure they have access to industry leading technology,” said Marc Rouanne, head of Network Systems, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Our intention is to capitalize on DragonWave’s proven capabilities for innovative product development and focus on our end-to-end solutions.”

"DragonWave is very proud to partner with Nokia Siemens Networks. We hope to welcome new employees as a valuable addition to the DragonWave team,” said Peter Allen, president & chief executive officer of DragonWave. “This relationship is transformational, giving us the ability to serve customers who want to access an integrated solution. In addition, it provides DragonWave an expanded technology base to address those customers who wish to purchase stand-alone best-in-breed products. Our increased scale, diversity and customer footprint, coupled with significantly enhanced resources and capabilities, will provide a solid foundation for faster innovation and broader market penetration.”

The consideration paid by DragonWave on closing will include approximately 10 million euros in cash subject to customary purchase price adjustments and 5 million euros worth of DragonWave common shares which will be subject to a lock-up agreement restricting sale or disposition of the shares (subject to customary exceptions) for 24 months. DragonWave will also assume employee liabilities of approximately 10 million euros and will enter into a capital asset lease arrangement for approximately 5 million euros. The terms of the Master Acquisition Agreement also provides for sales performance based earn-out payments to be made following closing. The hardware and basic software earn-out period runs for 18 months following closing and the earn-out period on application software upgrades runs for four years following closing. The earn-out payments could raise the value of the transaction by approximately 80 million euros.

DragonWave expects to finance the transaction through a combination of cash on its balance sheet and increased debt facilities provided by Comerica Bank and Export Development Canada. Such debt facilities are subject to conditions and will be entered into on, and subject to, closing of the acquisition.

The planned deal would substantially broaden and strengthen DragonWave’s product presence in major mobile operators throughout the world through Nokia Siemens Networks’ extensive global sales channel.

As part of the proposed acquisition, the companies expect approximately 360 Nokia Siemens Networks employees, mainly based in Milan, Italy and Shanghai, China, to transfer to DragonWave. The companies will shortly enter into consultation regarding the proposed acquisition with employees and employee representatives in accordance with applicable law provisions and relevant timelines.

Both Nokia Siemens Networks and DragonWave believe the planned acquisition would provide transferring employees with attractive new opportunities in a solid, technologically advanced company, with its focus on their core areas of expertise.

This planned deal is a “significant acquisition” for DragonWave under applicable securities laws and, accordingly, DragonWave will file a Business Acquisition Report within 75 days of closing. Canaccord Genuity Corp. acted as exclusive financial advisor to DragonWave.

Sony to acquire Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson

Sony to acquire Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Sony Corporation ("Sony") today announced that Sony will acquire Ericsson's 50 percent stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB ("Sony Ericsson"), making the mobile handset business a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony.

The transaction gives Sony an opportunity to rapidly integrate smartphones into its broad array of network-connected consumer electronics devices - including tablets, televisions and personal computers - for the benefit of consumers and the growth of its business. The transaction also provides Sony with a broad intellectual property (IP) cross-licensing agreement covering all products and services of Sony as well as ownership of five essential patent families relating to wireless handset technology.

As part of the transaction, Ericsson will receive a cash consideration of EUR 1.05 billion.

During the past ten years the mobile market has shifted focus from simple mobile phones to rich smartphones that include access to internet services and content. The transaction is a logical strategic step that takes into account the nature of this evolution and its impact on the marketplace.

This means that the synergies for Ericsson in having both a world leading technology and telecoms services portfolio and a handset operation are decreasing. Today Ericsson's focus is on the global wireless market as a whole; how wireless connectivity can benefit people, business and society beyond just phones. Consistent with that mission, by setting up a wireless connectivity initiative, Ericsson and Sony will work to drive and develop the market's adoption of connectivity across multiple platforms.

"This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want. With a vibrant smartphone business and by gaining access to important strategic IP, notably a broad cross-license agreement, our four-screen strategy is in place. We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment. This includes Sony's own acclaimed network services, like the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network," said Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr Stringer also noted that the acquisition will afford Sony operational efficiencies in engineering, network development and marketing, among other areas. "We can help people enjoy all our content - from movies to music and games - through our many devices, in a way no one else can."

"Ten years ago when we formed the joint venture, thereby combining Sony's consumer products knowledge with Ericsson's telecommunication technology expertise, it was a perfect match to drive the development of feature phones. Today we take an equally logical step as Sony acquires our stake in Sony Ericsson and makes it a part of its broad range of consumer devices. We will now enhance our focus on enabling connectivity for all devices, using our R&D and industry leading patent portfolio to realize a truly connected world" said Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.

When Sony Ericsson started its operations on October 1, 2001, it combined the unprofitable handset operations from Ericsson and Sony. Following a successful turnaround the company has become a market leader in the development of feature phones by integrating Sony's strong consumer products knowledge and Ericsson's telecommunications technology leadership. The WalkmanTM phone and Cyber-shotTM phone are well known examples.

With the successful introduction of the P1 in 2007, Sony Ericsson early on established itself in the smartphone segment. More recently, the company has successfully made the transition from feature phones to Android-based Xperia(TM) smartphones. By the end of the third quarter of 2011, Sony Ericsson held a market share of 11 percent (by value) in the Android phone market, representing 80 percent of the company's third quarter sales. During its ten years in operation Sony Ericsson has generated approximately EUR 1.5 billion of profit and paid dividends totalling approximately EUR 1.9 billion to its parent companies. Prominent models include "XperiaTM arc" and "XperiaTM mini" which received 2011 EISA Awards, while recent notable additions to the lineup include "XperiaTM PLAY" and "XperiaTM arc S".

The transaction, which has been approved by appropriate decision-making bodies of both companies, is expected to close in January 2012, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Ericsson has accounted for its 50 percent share in Sony Ericsson according to the equity method. Following completion of the transaction, Ericsson will have no outstanding guarantees relating to Sony Ericsson and will no longer account for Sony Ericsson as an investment on balance sheet. The transaction will result in a positive capital gain for Ericsson which will be defined after closing of the transaction.

Everything Everywhere chief Olaf Swantee says company name is 'silly' - Telegraph

Everything Everywhere chief Olaf Swantee says company name is 'silly'

Yes, we do agree that EE is a pointless name for the company and probably did nothing to help it convince the regulator and competition commission that they would be too big.

While we are at it, may as point out that Panther and Dolphin are also silly names to give calling plans, unless Orange is just after people, maybe children, who want to be an animal when they grow up. Let me know when the wise owl plan comes out.

Nokia showcases bold portfolio of new phones, services and accessories at Nokia World

Nokia showcases bold portfolio of new phones, services and accessories at Nokia World

London, UK - At Nokia World, the company's annual event for customers, partners and developers, Nokia demonstrated clear progress on its strategy by unveiling a bold portfolio of innovative phones, services and accessories, including the first smartphones in its Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia range. The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 brings content to life with head-turning design, Nokia's best social and Internet experience, familiar Nokia elements, such as leading imaging capabilities and new signature experiences. The colorful and affordable Nokia Lumia 710 is a no-nonsense smartphone that brings the Lumia experience to more people around the world.

Nokia also launched four new mobile phones which feature stylish design, a rich social experience and location-aware technology. The Nokia Asha 300, Nokia Asha 303, Nokia Asha 200 and Nokia Asha 201 blur the line between smartphones and feature phones, offering QWERTY and touch screen experiences, combined with fast and easy access to the Internet, integrated social networking, messaging and world-class applications from the Nokia Store.

"Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action. We're driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones," said Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. "From the Nokia Lumia 800 to the Nokia Asha 201, we are bringing compelling new products to the market faster than ever before. I'm incredibly proud of these new devices - and the people of Nokia who have made this happen."

"Since Nokia's major strategic shift only eight months ago, the company has found a new energy. It has provided substantial improvements to Symbian, managed to differentiate on Windows Phone and it continues to build on its strong portfolio in mobile phones," says Pete Cunningham, Principal Analyst, Canalys. "Nokia is delivering on its pledges, and is clearly demonstrating its path to future success."

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Processor Powers First Nokia Lumia Smartphones

Qualcomm News and Events - Press Releases Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Processor Powers First Nokia Lumia Smartphones

LONDON – October 26, 2011 – Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) announced today that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon™ mobile processors power the first Nokia Lumia smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 800 and the Nokia Lumia 710.

This marks Nokia’s entrance into the Windows Phone ecosystem and is the latest step in the mobile industry’s high-speed transition towards mobile computing. The Snapdragon processor’s unique engineering enabled Nokia to substantially accelerate the time to market of the products.

"We are proud that our deep collaboration with Nokia resulted in smartphones that were developed in only six months based on our Snapdragon platform," said Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Europe. “The level of integration in Snapdragon and the optimization for Windows Phone 7, as well as the efforts of two strong teams, delivered these great devices."

The Snapdragon S2 class of processors provides a best-in-class mobile experience, including high-performance mobile computing with prolonged battery life and next-generation graphics for Nokia’s Lumia phones. Lumia users will also experience rapid network connections and fast, responsive Web browsing.

“The collaboration between Nokia, Qualcomm and Microsoft has been extremely successful,” said Jo Harlow, head of Nokia’s Smart Devices business unit. “Qualcomm played a significant and very active role in helping develop the first Nokia Lumia smartphones, without which we would not have been able to bring the products to market so quickly.”

As one of the largest providers of wireless chipset and software technology in the industry, Qualcomm has one of the most diverse chipset and software product portfolios spanning multiple device classes. Specifically, the S2 processors are optimized to enable HD videos in the browser, a rich gaming experience, top-quality pictures and video.

TomTom rolls out Places app in more countries

Amsterdam, 25 October 2011 – TomTom will continue the geographical expansion of its Places iPhone app. It will be made available in Sweden, Norway and Ireland in the coming month. To-date the app has been downloaded 170,000 times since it was recently launched across five countries in September.

The Places iPhone app uses TomTom maps and combines TomTom's enhanced POI database of 5.5 million places, together with HD Traffic. It allows iPhone users to search for relevant businesses or locations for example; hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, cash machines or tourist attractions. Detailed information is provided to help users refine their results and decide what their next destination will be.

Lucien Groenhuijzen, Managing Director TomTom Places says: "With TomTom Places people can easily find and get all relevant information about the places they want to visit. We are seeing that one out of two search requests lead to a user enquiry of any of the results shown."

Next to the ability to immediately call, e-mail or visit the destination's website from the application, it provides the route to your chosen target and the current traffic situation based on HD Traffic. The application does not provide turn-by- turn navigation functionality.

TomTom Places is app is available in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Denmark and will be available in Norway, Sweden and Ireland in November.

Pervasip :: VoX Communications Hires Chief Marketing Officer Barry MacCheyne as Head of Global Sales

VoX Communications Hires Chief Marketing Officer Barry MacCheyne as Head of Global Sales

Pervasip Corp.'s wholly owned subsidiary, VoX Communications (VoX), a leading provider of wholesale Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone services and cloud-based computing, today announced that Barry MacCheyne, a former sales executive from Global Crossing and Tata Communications, has joined the company as the Chief Marketing Officer. Mr. MacCheyne, who brings over 20 years of sales and marketing experience to VoX, will be responsible for global sales and marketing of the VoX voice and video products.

"I am delighted to have Barry on board. He is highly regarded for his achievements in securing strategic accounts with multinational corporations and retail establishments within the U.S.," said Paul Riss, Chief Executive Officer. "His deep understanding of the telecom industry and network of contacts with key video phone targets will be a great asset to us as we continue to expand our sales organization."

Mr. MacCheyne has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience from the telecommunications industry. As Senior Vice President of Carrier Services at Global Crossing, he managed the wholesale sales organization in the US. He successfully penetrated strategic accounts and substantially grew revenue across all regions. After his success at Global Crossing, Mr. MacCheyne became Senior Vice President of Mobility Sales and Service for Tata Communications where he built a global sales team selling value-added services to mobile Operators. After Tata, he worked for Worldgate, the manufacturer of the Ojo Vision video phone that VoX is currently marketing, as Vice President of Global Sales. Mr. MacCheyne is also the President of G3 Connect and has launched a successful G3 Video Talk video product 'Powered by VoX.'

"VoX's product offering and strong roadmap attracted me to the company. With its unique VoIP architecture and scalability, they have, as I see it, the only mobile and video VoIP solution that meets the price and performance requirements of sophisticated consumers," said Barry MacCheyne. "And with its automated back office systems and easy downloads of VoIP apps, I believe VoX has the potential to take a substantial part of the growing mobile VoIP and video VoIP market."

Berg Insight says worldwide installed base of smart electricity meters will reach 602.7 million units in 2016

Gothenburg, Sweden – October 20, 2011: New research from the analyst firm Berg Insight says that the worldwide installed base of smart electricity meters will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 26.6 percent between 2010 and 2016 to reach 602.7 million at the end of the period. During the next five years, penetration rates for smart metering technology are projected to increase from around 15–25 percent today to around 50 percent in Europe and North America and over 75 percent in Asia-Pacific. By 2020, penetration rates are expected to approach 100 percent in most developed countries with massive rollouts also taking place in new territories such as Latin America, India and the Middle East.

“Securing a sustainable supply of energy will be one of the greatest challenges for mankind in the 21st century”, said Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst, Berg Insight and author of the report. “Smart grid technologies will make a major contribution to achieving this goal by improving the efficiency at all levels of the electricity supply chain from generation to transmission, distribution and consumption. Smart meters are the gateways that connect consumers to the smart grid and enable them to interact with other players in the ecosystem.”

Berg Insight ranks Europe and North America as the most advanced adopters of smart metering technology today. A majority of the countries in Western Europe have passed legislation that requires nationwide rollouts before the end of this decade and a few such as Italy and Sweden already have fully operational systems. All EU member states that have not already done so are required to perform a cost-benefit analysis of smart metering before September 2012. In the US, important states such as California and Texas have mandated the introduction of smart meters or given their approval for massive rollouts proposed by utilities. Furthermore the federal government has granted nearly US$ 5 billion in funding for smart grid projects that frequently involve smart meter rollouts.

China and other countries in East Asia are in an early phase of adoption but have very aggressive installation plans. The State Grid Corporation of China is currently deploying 50–60 million advanced electricity meters per year as preparation for the construction of a nationwide smart metering network within five years. The new generation of meters is prepared for two-way communication once a network connection becomes available. Elsewhere in the region, South Korea has an ambitious plan for a nationwide smart grid network that is being implemented by the national utility KEPCO and in Japan the government is looking to smart meters as a part of the solution to the new challenges facing the country’s electricity industry.

iZettle Rings Up €8.2 Million ($11.2 Million) In Series A Funding

Stockholm – 19th of October 2011: iZettle, the social payments company, today announced it has received €8.2 million ($11.2 million) in Series A funding led by Index Ventures with co-investor Creandum and further investment from Charles Dunstone, CEO and Co-founder of The Carphone Warehouse.

The Series A funds will be used to expand into chip-card markets outside of Sweden as well as support the development of the iZettle sevice, which enables anyone to take credit or debit card payments anytime, anywhere and makes it easy to share purchases with friends on Facebook.

iZettle’s free iPad, iPhone and iPod touch app and mini chip-card reader launched in Sweden in August 2011 and became an instant hit in the App Store; It rocketed to number one in the finance category and number four in the overall App Store.

Ben Holmes, Index Partner who joins iZettle board of directors comments: ”iZettle is a company with the right technology at the right time. Its simple and cost-effective system is opening up a whole new frontier for the payments industry.”

“It all comes down to fantastic convenience,” adds Simon Örtqvist, who operates the Mexican food cart Edvinsson&Örtqvist in Stockholm. “I want to capture every sale possible. People don’t always have cash in their pocket. iZettle gives my customers the option of paying with a card.”

iZettle puts security at the heart of its business. It is EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) approved, and compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). No sensitive data is ever stored on the mobile device or iZettle reader, and all data traffic is encrypted.

“We were impressed that the iZettle team had managed to build a system which achieved the high security levels required for chip card processing yet also remained beautifully simple and intuitive to use. We look forward to helping the team with their global expansion.” says Creandum General Partner, Johan Brenner, who is also joining iZettle’s board.

The company was founded in April 2010 by serial entrepreneurs Jacob de Geer, former vice president of business development at TradeDoubler, and Magnus Nilsson, former CEO at Wayfinder and executive vice president of EF Education Group.

Telefónica and VMware to Offer Work and Personal Profiles

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Oct. 19, 2011 – Today at VMworld® 2011 Europe, Telefónica and VMware, Inc. announced a strategic partnership to deliver VMware Horizon Mobile™, enabling Telefónica customers to gain the freedom to choose a single Android device for work and personal use.

VMware Horizon Mobile will provide a simple way for IT departments to securely provision, manage and de-provision a corporate mobile workspace (phone, email, applications, data, etc.) to an employee’s Android device over-the-air, while enabling the employee to retain the privacy and control of their personal mobile environments.

VMware Horizon Mobile and Telefónica cloud solutions will enable users to gain access to a catalog of corporate approved applications and corporate data resources. Unlike other mobile solutions that require customized application development, enterprises and public organizations using VMware Horizon Mobile will be able to access and leverage the more than 250,000 applications available on the Android Market.

As a global operator, Telefónica’s expertise in mobile networks provides the ability to have a second corporate, mobile (voice and data) subscription attached to an individual’s personal mobile device. VMware Horizon Mobile isolates an individual’s personal and professional profiles at application level and supports separate work and personal telephone numbers and data services. Telefónica also plans to make the VMware Horizon Mobile Manager solution available in a cloud environment, enabling enterprises of all sizes to manage and deploy dual persona devices to their employees.

'VMware Horizon Mobile™ with our dual subscription feature and Telefónica cloud services will provide enterprises with the opportunity to manage and deliver a secure mobile environment, while providing individuals complete freedom over the personal use of the device,' said Carlos Morales, Global M2M, Cloud and Apps Director of Telefónica Digital. 'In addition, the ability to provision virtual work phones via the cloud means that corporate virtual phones can be easily updated and redeployed in case of loss or theft. As a result, expenses are reduced, employees are not bothered by restrictive policies and, most importantly, the corporate environment is fully secured.'

'Inspired by the great experience they have with technology in their personal time, people want to bring the same devices and experience to work,' said Dr. Stephen Herrod, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Research and Development, VMware. 'Working with Telefónica, VMware can offer enterprises the freedom to embrace employee-owned devices like never before. Offering the ability to easily provision and manage a ‘virtual phone-in-a-phone’, VMware Horizon Mobile™ will be able to provide both the security and control required by the enterprise, and the freedom of choice sought by employees.'

To bring this solution to the market, both Telefónica and VMware are working with a growing ecosystem of partners. Among these various partners, Samsung will offer the Samsung Galaxy SII, tested and ready for use with VMware Horizon Mobile on Telefónica wireless networks.

'As consumers increasingly bring their own mobile devices to work, we are looking for ways to implement solutions to support this trend,' said Jongshin Kim, Vice President of Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics. We are excited to provide an option that would satisfy both individual users as well as IT professionals, using Samsung mobile devices.'

Huawei and Rostelecom Successfully Complete Coherent 100G Trail on Rostelecom's Live Network

[Shenzhen, China, October 19, 2011]: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, and Rostelecom, the leading fixed network operator in Russia, today jointly announced the successful completion of a coherent 100G trail on a 1,033 kilometer stretch of Rostelecom's live network between the cities of Moscow and Samara.

Coherent 100G is the latest technology for transmitting high-speed 100G services, making them better adapted to fiber transmission so that services can be transmitted at a higher rate over a longer distance.

The rapid growth of bandwidth leasing has led to an explosive increase in broadband services transmitted between Europe and Asia. This traffic accounts for most of the transport capacity of Rostelecom’s backbone networks, and to ensure that it can continue to develop services in the future, Rostelecom has been exploring the possibility of constructing 100G backbone transport networks. This trial confirmed the possibility of using coherent 100G technology on Rostelecom’s live network.

The link between Moscow and Samara, an important industrial city in the Volga region, is one of Rostelecom’s busiest, and is therefore in urgent need of 100G technology. Huawei's 100G technology, which uses ePDM-QPSK (enhanced Polarization Division Multiplexing Quadrature Phase Shift Keying), is the most advanced technology in the 100G transport network field. It is able to perform well in both anti-nonlinearity and ultra-long haul transmission, which made it perfectly equipped for this coherent 100G trail.

During the trail, Huawei's 100G technology allowed 100GE services to be successfully transmitted over the 1,033 kilometers between Moscow and Samara without the use of an electrical regenerator. In addition, hybrid transmissions of 100G and 40G services were achieved.

"In 2002, Huawei deployed the first Wavelength Division Multiplexing backbone network for Rostelecom, and since then, Huawei's WDM products have been deployed on 25,000 kilometers of Rostelecom’s backbone network," said Evgeny Zhukov, head of technical solutions to regional transportation networks of Huawei in CIS. In addition to spurring the evolution of transport technologies from 10G to 40G and then to 100G, Huawei has also kept forging ahead in the development of WDM networks to provide customers with more valuable solutions and services.

"We are happy that our coherent 100G solution passed Rostelecom’s rigorous testing with flying colors. The experience gained during the test will be very helpful in deploying 100G services in the future."

As an industry-leading transport vendor, Huawei is committed to providing operators worldwide with premium WDM/OTN, MSTP/Hybrid MSTP, and microwave products in addition to end-to-end transport solutions. According to consulting firm Ovum, Huawei leads the global optical network market, the WDM/OTN market, and the 40G market as of the second quarter of 2011.

"Most Innovative Mobile Broadband Deployment" Award Recognizes Huawei's Global Potential to Bridge Rural Digital Divides

[Austin, US, 18 October, 2011]: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced the world's first LTE DD800 commercial network, as deployed by Huawei for Vodafone Germany, has been recognized with the 2011 RCR Wireless News Innovation Awards in the category of "Most Innovative Mobile Broadband Deployment."

This is a further endorsement of Huawei's abilities in respect of leading commercial LTE deployment. In June of this year, Huawei was honored with the "Wireless Network Infrastructure Innovation" award from Global Telecoms Business. Huawei's achievements received similar recognition with awards at the LTE Word Summit 2011.

Following release of the 800MHz (DD800) band from analogue TV, many operators opted for the "Digital Dividend" to meet escalating data demand from increasing smartphone usage. By significantly improving mobile broadband coverage services in rural areas not covered by broadband, the successful LTE DD800 SingleRAN based project between Huawei and Vodafone is the first scalable demonstration of LTE ‘s ability to bridge Digital Divides around the world.

Congratulating Huawei and Vodafone, Jeff Mucci, CEO & Editorial Director of RCR Wireless News, commented"The RCR Wireless News Mobile Innovation Awards recognize those having a material impact on our global mobile broadband industry and the economy as a whole. With multiple submissions, competition for an award in this category was especially fierce. However, the LTE DD800 commercial project submission was a clear indicator of the way in which Huawei and Vodafone are spearheading commercialization of LTE. We offer them many congratulations on a well deserved win."

David Wang, President of Wireless Network, stated Huawei's appreciation:"This award recognizes the joint endeavors of both Huawei and Vodafone. It evidences our commitment to becoming the best business partner for operators worldwide. We will work with global carriers to drive MBB success forward based on our innovation ability and leading advantage in the wireless field."

"Mag3D", the new program dedicated to the world of 3D on Orange TV

Orange and the company Troisième Œil Productions are partnering to launch a new program entirely dedicated to the world of 3D. As the first TV magazine on 3D in France, Mag3D is a monthly 26 minute program shot in three dimensions, offering a range of topics to inform, educate and entertain the viewer about 3D technology. 


The first show will air on 28 November on Orange TV’s channel 30, accessible to all Orange high-speed broadband customers who have High Definition TV (fiber optics, ADSL or satellite) and a 3D television and glasses. This magazine will also be available on the dailymotion 3D channel, on PC, mobile and on video-on-demand free of charge.


A real broadcasting benchmark in the world of 3D, viewers will find all the exciting information relating to this new technology including new film releases, sports events, documentaries, video games, "the making of", shows, exhibitions, music, concerts, the latest in High-Tech (screens, cameras, videos, phones)... as well as first-hand accounts of 3D experiences shared by guests on the show.

JT Selects Comverse ONE Converged BSS for Business Transformation

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Oct. 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverse, a global leader in BSS, mobile Internet and value-added services, announced today that JT, a leading operator based in the Channel Islands, has selected the Comverse ONE® Billing and Active Customer Management™ solution to power a significant business transformation that will enable it to increase operational effectiveness and business agility throughout its converged multiple-play portfolio. Replacing two legacy billing solutions and a number of specially tailored IT applications, Comverse ONE will provide JT with a fully converged BSS.


Dave Newbold, Chief Operations and Technology Officer at JT, said, "We operate in a highly competitive marketplace, and continually look to improve our products and services to satisfy our customers' requirements. To do this, JT needed to move to a converged billing and CRM solution that would support our growth ambitions. Comverse ONE's single-system approach to BSS convergence offers us the customer management, marketing and charging agility we were looking for, and also enables us to take advantage of new opportunities not only in the Channel Islands, but also as JT moves and expands into new markets."


Optimized for evolving technologies and convergent markets, Comverse ONE delivers flexible and powerful customer management, ordering, billing and revenue generation applications suitable for any market vertical: wholesale, enterprise and residential. As a single system, converged BSS streamlines business processes across the entire organization from CRM to billing, providing CSPs with the ability to enhance every aspect of the customer lifecycle — from acquisition through order management to charging and up-sell — in the most efficient manner.


"Around the world, profound changes in technology are transforming the way consumers and enterprises communicate and do business," said Lionel Chmilewsky, Senior Vice President, Head of Customer Facing Group at Comverse. "In this 'always-on' multi-service landscape, Comverse ONE, the industry's pre-eminent single-system converged BSS offering built around a unified data model, seamlessly addresses all aspects of convergence, bridging the network and IT for end-to-end flows that dramatically reduce complexity and integration points for heightened efficiency. Operators gain significant operational savings, a richer service portfolio and speedier time to market. We look forward to effectively helping JT meet the diverse needs of its varied customer base into the future."


Comverse is a global leader in converged billing. Comverse BSS solutions serve more than 200 service providers around the world supporting over 750 million active subscribers.

Supporting tomorrow’s requirements through a real-time platform

Paderborn (Germany), 18 October 2011: In a world where customer-centricity is paramount, focusing just on product differentiation will only lead to a short-term success. More than ever operators require a powerful communication channel to effectively reach the customer, since the focus on this aspect is crucial. Orga Systems’ solution operates across multiple channels and through intelligent notification delivery, allowing them to create a closer customer relationship through continuous communication in real-time. The solution is specifically designed for integration in convergent networks - a valuable add-on for real-time charging and billing systems.


Creating instant revenue opportunities
Leveraging Orga Systems’ real-time competence can assure the highest level of customer satisfaction. The solution offers a powerful communication platform for mass marketing campaigns or highly personalized one-to-one promotions, the built in real-time functionalities fuel direct customer engagement and lead to a boost of successful marketing activities and high revenue opportunities. Now operators worldwide have the benefit of using a real-time charging platform combined with real-time communication towards the end-user, leading to a boost of customer experience.


Customer loyalty anchored on customized solutions
Orga Systems’ real-time charging solutions unify advanced charging scenarios for all services across all subscriber segments on one single platform. This enables faster launch of new and differentiating services, attractive mobile broadband offerings, as well as real-time notifications and interaction. In addition to this, real-time convergent billing systems have to provide the flexibility, speed and real-time capabilities required to support new convergent business models. Convergent billing solutions are the only way to eliminate pre and postpaid silos and to quickly and efficiently roll out truly bundled services, up-sell and cross-promote services. This will improve customer experience and as well as customer loyalty at the same time.

New Nokia Facebook app connects customers to operators

Press Release, Nokia, Espoo, Finland – October 18, 2011


New Facebook app connects customers to operators



Self-care application from Nokia Siemens Networks uses social network to manage personal telecom services


Nokia Siemens Networks has launched a Facebook app that operators can use to allow people to personally manage their fixed and mobile telecom services. The new app enables customers to check their balance, browse and buy special offers and subscribe to services. In addition, customers can share their experience across their social network and get rewards for recommending services to friends. The app aims to offer an improved service by allowing operators to engage with customers where they spend their time online.


“The beauty of the Facebook app is that it engages with people on their preferred social networking site,” said Rick Centeno, head of business support systems (BSS) at Nokia Siemens Networks. “People spend more time on social networks than individual websites. With this Facebook app, Nokia Siemens Networks helps operators to connect with people in a familiar setting where they already spend their online time. It takes self-care to a new level.”


An April 2011 research report from Ovum, ‘Defining the Rules of Engagement for Customer Service in Social Media’ claimed that “social media represents a significant opportunity for enterprise customer service.”*


"Nokia Siemens Networks is presenting a refreshing end-to-end vision of how CSPs can better meet their customers' needs through self-care, while also reducing their costs and becoming more commercially agile", said Teresa Cottam, research director and founder, Telesperience. "We've seen other companies articulate parts of this vision, but few others - if indeed any others - can deliver this in its entirety today."


For operators that deliver a superior customer service, Nokia Siemens Networks’ Facebook app can amplify and publicize genuine leadership. People who share their experiences with friends, and also recommend services, can benefit from special rates and incentives from operators. Friends benefit from recommendations that help them to evaluate which service package will best suit their needs. The app can also provide instant access to account information such as prepaid and postpaid balance, recent call duration, cost and contact details – all within the familiar Facebook site.


“This first social network integration will enrich a wide range of existing operator processes such as convergent charging, self-care, campaign management, business analytics and customer experience management to improve customer experience in a very efficient way. The integration is based on Nokia Siemens Networks’ modular charging engine and integration framework,” said Centeno.


The application enhances Nokia Siemens Networks’ range of self-care portals - share@once - that facilitate direct interaction between operators and customers. The new Facebook app complements a mobile self-care app for smartphones and a web-based self-care portal that can already provide a simpler way to manage telecom services.


All three share@once self-care portals – for Facebook, smartphones and the web – are based on Nokia Siemens Networks’ modular and scalable charge@once unified platform**. The platform provides a unified view for operators of special offers, and charging and billing for all types of voice and data services in all networks, independent of whether it is a prepaid or postpaid scheme.


By providing different types of self-care portals, and a new opportunity for operators to interact with customers, share@once enhances Nokia Siemens Networks’ Customer Experience Management (CEM)*** portfolio. CEM provides insight into the factors affecting a customers’ experience to define and automate specific actions to make it better.

FASTWEB deploying Italy’s first 100G optical network | Nokia Siemens Networks

FASTWEB deploying Italy’s first 100G optical network | Nokia Siemens Networks

FASTWEB, one of Italy’s largest broadband providers, is deploying the country’s first 100 Gigabit per second (100G) per channel optical fiber network between Milan and Rome. Using Nokia Siemens Networks technology, the network will be capable of simultaneously transmitting up to 40 wavelengths of light, each carrying data at 100G. This will allow a total data transfer speed of up to 4 Terabits per second.

The new 100G link will be operational in the last quarter of 2011. Its deployment will ensure an improved experience for people using the connection, with greater bandwidth and lower latency, or delay, in data transmission. A 2008 report by TABB Group showed that a lower latency advantage of 1 millisecond (ms) is equivalent to more than $100 million in financial transaction revenue per year for NYSE Euronext trading partners*.

“We are witnessing high demand for bandwidth, driven by increased uptake of enterprise applications and rich, bandwidth-intensive smart device applications. The transition to a 100G channel optical transport network will enable us to fulfill the demands of our existing users as well as attract new subscribers by offering differentiated services,” said Mario Mella, chief technology officer, FASTWEB. “We chose Nokia Siemens Networks to offer a cost-effective transition path based on its deep understanding of our network and its proven technological expertise in optical transport networks.”

Nokia Siemens Networks’ Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) solution** comprises the hiT 7300 optical network platform and its network management system for planning and automation. The hiT 7300 platform will ensure cost savings by either adopting no dispersion compensation (DCM-free) techniques on new fiber or simply by utilizing the operator’s installed DWDM network infrastructure. The latter option enables operators to benefit from higher capacity without the costly and time-consuming fiber measurement required by conventional systems***.

Nokia Siemens Networks will also integrate its DWDM equipment into the operator’s existing network infrastructure. In addition, the contract includes delivery of care services, including hardware and software maintenance as well as competence development.

“Operators today have to deal not only with higher data traffic volumes but also with unpredictable traffic patterns. The move to 100G provides the answer; it allows operators to deliver a consistent, high-quality experience by avoiding bandwidth bottlenecks without making costly investments in laying more fiber,” said Francesco Salerni, head of the FASTWEB customer team at Nokia Siemens Networks.

ip.access launches 3G C-class consumer small cell

Cambridge October 12th, 2011 At its European User Group conference in Central London today, ip.access announced a new C8 consumer femtocell Access Point. In front of representatives from its existing customer base, which numbers some 60 network operators, ip.access unveiled the smart new 3G residential small cell which can provide strong 3G signal for up to eight phones simultaneously within a home or home office.

The plug-and-play unit is quick and easy to install, and automatically configures its radio parameters to optimise performance within the surrounding macro network. Designed for operation in Closed Access mode, the C-class AP allows the home owner to choose which phones can access the small cell to make and receive calls, surf the web or download music and movies at speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps.

The new C8 unit is built with ip.access' award-winning Oyster 3G™ technology, which is used by Cisco in the world’s largest femtocell deployment with AT&T in the USA. The C8 AP becomes part of the company’s end-to-end nano3G small cell solution, which enables mobile network operators to get a high quality 3G mobile phone signal inside buildings and other hard-to-reach places, and uses broadband IP backhaul for rapid deployment and low-cost operation.

Making the announcement, ip.access SVP product strategy and marketing, Dr Andy Tiller said: “We lead the world in small cell deployments, both within homes through our work with Cisco and AT&T and in public small cell deployments with our worldwide operator customers.”

“Today, we are further extending our nano3G solution with our own C-class product as a natural complement to our existing S-Class and E-Class 3G units. Our picocells and femtocells already serve millions of subscribers in homes, shops, offices and busy public locations.”

In August this year ip.access announced that its Oyster 3G technology is powering more than half a million small cell Access Points in mobile networks worldwide.

Vodafone to Help The Linde Group Drive Efficiencies with Range of Managed Mobile Services

Vodafone to Help The Linde Group Drive Efficiencies with Range of Managed Mobile Services

Vodafone has been selected by The Linde Group, a world-leading industrial gases and engineering company, to provide mobile voice and data services in 27 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

Under the four-year agreement, Vodafone Global Enterprise - the business within Vodafone which manages the communications needs of its largest multinational customers - will provide Linde with mobile services that will simplify the management of the Group’s international mobile communications. Vodafone Global Enterprise will also help Linde to standardise its mobile communications spend and deliver enhanced cost transparency.

Nick Jeffery, Vodafone Global Enterprise CEO, said: “Like other multinational companies, Linde wants to manage its global mobility needs as simply and effectively as possible while reducing costs. We have the scale, the tools and the expertise to deliver worry-free business communication services that will give Linde the competitive edge it needs.”

Christoph Clausen, Chief Procurement Officer at The Linde Group said: “After a thorough selection process Linde chose Vodafone as it provided us with the most comprehensive and cost-effective solution. As we follow our strategy to be a High Performance Organisation, mobility services are key to delivering sustainable process optimisation and efficiency gains. Vodafone offers us the ability to harmonise our mobility requirements whilst leveraging Vodafone’s global presence.”