(Reuters) - SICO Investment Bank started coverage of Kuwaiti telecom operator Wataniya with a "buy" rating and a price target of 3.06 dinars, saying the company's operations in Algeria and Tunisia will drive overall growth.
SICO expects the two units to contribute 76 percent of the Kuwaiti company's incremental revenue growth during 2012-2014.
"Algeria will likely have a 3G license auction, and a successful bid will enable the company to capitalize on the country's untapped data potential," the brokerage said in a note to clients.
Nedjma, Wataniya's Algerian unit, has been providing attractive offers that has led to higher usage and ARPU (average revenues per user), benefiting its revenue and margins. The brokerage expects the trend to continue.
Nedjma is also expected to benefit from its significant investments in network infrastructure, helping the company acquire and retain corporate and high value customers.
Wataniya's Tunisian arm, Tunisiana, recently won 3G and fixed line licenses and is aiming to launch 3G services this July, SICO said.
Wataniya, with its high earnings growth and free cash flow yield, is expected to more than double its dividend over the next three years, the brokerage said.
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved
T-Mobile slashes data roaming prices for EU - The Guardian
T-Mobile has unveiled details of a market-leading tariff for consumers who want access to the internet through mobile phones while overseas, and announced plans that will prevent customers experiencing "bill shock" when they return from travelling.
The cost of using your mobile phone to access the internet is set to fall dramatically across Europe from 1 July following implementation of rules to stop UK mobile providers setting excessive charges.
It means holidaymakers may finally be able to chat to friends on Facebook or watch YouTube on the beach without breaking the bank.
Some consumers have suffered bill shock after unwittingly running-up charges amounting to thousands of pounds while on holiday, after leaving data-hungry smartphone apps running in the background.
Source: consumerchoices.co.uk However, mobile providers are introducing lower roaming charges and deals on data allowances in anticipation of tighter pricing controls.
T-Mobile will allow customers to buy "booster" deals, based on how much data they wish to use, and will completely block overseas internet usage until customers purchase one of the new packages (available from 19 June).
Comparison site Broadband Choices said T-Mobile was the best option for consumers wishing to use the internet briefly, buying 3MB worth of data for just £1 or 33p per MB.
However heavy internet users might find other tariffs cheaper than T-mobile's larger bundles, which are priced at £5 for 20MB and £10 for 50MB (both have time limits).
Three is offering an "all-you-can-eat" tariff, the Euro Internet Pass, for £5, while Vodafone will allow customers to use their existing UK plan overseas for an extra £3 a day.
However Three's Euro Internet Pass will not allow streaming or tethering – where a mobile is linked to a laptop to enable internet access.
For frequent travellers Virgin Mobile's new data passes, available from 25 June2012, are valid for three months or until the data is used up, so there is no need to use all the data allowance within 24 hours. This makes the £3 charge for 5MB or £5 for 10MB reasonably cost effective.
A megabyte of data is equivalent to accessing eight normal web pages or 200 emails without attachments, according to Which?. You would need 10MB to download one music track.
The Guardian has reported on several cases of mobile bill shock in recent weeks, including that of Alexandra Xanthaki, who faced a £2,600 bill after using an iPhone app to find restaurants on a short trip abroad.
Consumers can also end up considerably out of pocket if their phone is stolen. Johan Potgieter, was landed with a £9,000 bill from Orange after thieves stole his phone while he was on holiday in South Africa.
The EU ruling caps charges imposed by UK network providers for overseas roaming.
From 1 July, the cost of data can be no more than €0.70 per MB, plus VAT, which is around 69p. This will then fall to 45 cents plus VAT, around 36p, in July 2013 and 20 cents plus VAT (around 16p) in July 2014 – vastly cheaper than some UK providers' current European rates.
Orange, for example, charges £3.07 per MB if you want to surf the net in Europe, while Three's pre-EU ruling fee is £1.28 per MB.
But some of the new pricing plans are not straightforward , with some only available to contract customers, leaving pay-as-you-go users facing higher costs, while others penalise light internet users.
Dominic Baliszewski from Broadband Choices said: "Even with these new lower costs, charges can quickly rack up. A £3 charge is still a lot if you're only using 1MB to quickly check your emails. A £3 data charge per day will cost £42 if used daily over a two week trip."
The EU rule does not affect the prices providers can charge for data roaming outside the European Union but from 1 July, people travelling further afield will at least get a warning text message, email or pop-up window from their mobile provider when they are nearing €50 of data downloads, or their pre-agreed level. Consumers will then have to confirm they are happy to go over this level in order to continue their data roaming.
T-Mobile Reveals New Roaming Internet Boosters - techweekeurope.co.uk
T-Mobile has become the latest mobile operator to reveal roaming plans ahead of the EU price caps coming into place on 1 July.
The operator promised customers are ‘guaranteed’ never to run up an unexpected data roaming bill and, unlike its competitors, the Internet and Broadband Travel Boosters can be used outside Europe.
The boosters will come into effect on 19 June, across all consumer and businesses plans and can be used on smartphones and mobile broadband devices.
The end of bill shock?
“We are really proud to be the first UK operator to ensure our customers can continue to be connected, anywhere in the world – and have the peace of mind they’ll never come back to an unexpected bill,” commented Ben Fritsch, head of propositions at T-Mobile.
Once a customer has landed in another country, they will be directed to a page where they can purchase one of the boosters in order to continue using the Internet. A number of bundle sizes are available, and all last for 30 days or until the data has been used up.
The cost of the booster is dependent on the size and the category of country visited.
Varying costs
The cheapest booster costs £1 for 3MB of data in Europe, which increases to £25 in Group D countries, which includes the likes of Brazil and Japan. The cost will either be added to the customer’s monthly bill or deducted from their Pay As You Go credit.
Last week, Three launched its Euro Internet Pass to allow customers to use as much data as they went while abroad for £5 a day, although there were a number of restrictions, such as a lack of tethering. Vodafone has launched a similar Eurotraveller service, which lets customers use their UK price plan abroad, and includes calls and texts.
However they do not make provisions for outside Europe (with the exception of some overseas territories and departments), and the services are opt-in, rather than automatic.
“Where the other networks put the onus on customers to be savvy and sign up to the plans, T-Mobile customers will automatically be alerted to its Boosters every time they try to go online abroad – and it applies outside of the EU,” said Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch. “With the new EU regulations coming into force at the start of July, it is encouraging to see that providers are taking the lead and are already responding to the obvious demand for affordable data by offering customers the chance to curb their mobile spending while in the EU.”
What do you know about smartphones? Find out with our quiz!
ZTE introduces multi-application 400G and 1T DWDM prototype - telecomlead.com
ZTE
Telecom Lead Asia: Shenzhen-based, Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE has unveiled the world's first 400G/1T dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) multi-application network device prototype.
The company claims that the new device prototype can carry out seven different network applications depending on a carrier's requirements.
"ZTE is fully prepared to deploy solutions, products and services for the large-scale commercial global rollout of 100G and ultra-100G," said Chen Yufei, general manager of Bearer Network Product Line at ZTE.
The device has a multi-subcarrier orthogonal frequency division multiplexing 400G/1T solution for ultra-long-haul applications. Also, it is able to provide equal high bandwidth efficiency, which works with a comprehensive range of network applications.
The new prototype device has a multi-subcarrier orthogonal frequency division multiplexing 400G/1T solution for ultra-long-haul applications.
The device is a Nyquist WDM solution for long-haul applications and the company claims the prototype device is also a 16 quadrature amplitude modulation solution for metro and local applications with an industry highest bandwidth utilization rate.
In 2010, ZTE launched the industry's first full-range of 100G bearing solutions that provides 100G products ranging from switches and routers to WDM OTN equipment and end-to-end solutions from edge layer to core layer.
ZTE's 100G DWDM/ optical transport network (OTN)
system supports C-band 80-wavelength applications, standard PM-QPSK code
pattern adjustment and coherent detection.
ZTE launches 1.4GHz TD-LTE terminals
Recently, ZTE launched the world's first range of 1.4GHz TD-LTE terminals, including modules, USB cards, indoor CPE and outdoor CPE devices.
ZTE has completed a range of 1.4GHz TD-LTE terminal performance tests in China's first government-sponsored TD-LTE internet of things in Beijing.
T-Mobile introduces travel boosters for internet browsing anywhere in the world - Pocket-lint.com
T-Mobile customers can now stay online while on their holidays anywhere in the world this summer. The operator has introduced its Internet and Broadband Travel Boosters that start from as little as 1.
Operators have been facing continual pressure from consumers and watchdogs to slash their call and internet roaming rates.
Both Three and Vodafone recently announced their Euro Internet Pass and EuroTraveller schemes respectively, but T-Mobile’s offering is the first of its kind to cover the entire world.
Each time a customer logs on to the net via their smartphone or mobile broadband device while abroad, they will immediately be redirected to a web page where they can buy a booster that will prevent them from racking up pounds on their bill.
Deals start from as low as 1 (3MB in Europe) but can reach as much as 280 (50MB for the likes of Qatar, Cuba and Brazil).
T-Mobile’s Internet and Broadband Travel Boosters are available from 19 June, with the cost either being added to a customers pay monthly bill or deducted from PAYG customer’s credit.
Will you be buying a T-Mobile Internet & Broadband Travel Booster this summer? Let us know in the comments below.
TDSAT notice to DoT on Tata Teleservices plea on additional spectrum - Economic Times
Tata Teleservices has also sought start-up spectrum for the Delhi circle and 39 districts across the country.
The TDSAT bench, headed by Justice S B Sinha, issued notice to the Department of Telecom (DoT) asking it to file replies with three weeks. It also asked Tata Tele to file rejoinder within two weeks after that.
The tribunal's direction came while hearing two petitions filed by Tata Tele. In the first one, the company has sought additional spectrum of 1.8 Mhz before the proposed auction. In the other, it has sought start-up radio waves of 4.4 Mhz in Delhi and across 39 districts in 9 circles.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan appearing for Tata Tele submitted that DoT was bound to provide the additional spectrum as per the contract.
He also requested the tribunal to direct DoT to inform the company as to what arrangement it would make to adjust the spectrum if its petition succeeds.
The matter would come up on July 27 for hearing. TDSAT has also listed a similar plea filed by Anil Ambani Group firm RCom seeking additional spectrum.
Tata Tele also opposed GSM lobby group Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which wanted to be a party in the matter.
"COAI was not a party initially...They have nothing much to say in this matter," said Ramji.
However, the tribunal said that it would decide on COAI's plea next month and asked the GSM lobby group to file an application in this regard within a week.
Last year, the tribunal had directed DoT to allot start- up 2G spectrum of 4.4 MHz to Tata Teleservices in Delhi and 39 other places. However, DoT has not done so yet.
A service provider is authorised to get additional spectrum on achieving subscriber-linked milestones as per the existing telecom licence agreement.
On June 11, RCom had approached TDSAT seeking similar relief for GSM and CDMA spectrum.
RCom in its petition said that as per its agreement with DoT, telecom licence holder is authorised to get 4.4 Mhz spectrum to start service, and additional 1.8 Mhz after achieving specified subscriber numbers as stipulated in subscriber-linked criteria.
The company said it has achieved subscriber-linked criteria and is entitled to get additional spectrum of 1.8 Mhz.
No comments:
Post a Comment