Telstra launches the Ultimate Gateway, minus 4G support

Telstra has launched its latest wireless gateway for business customers, but says it doesn’t support the company’s new 4G network. Instead the device – created in partnership with NetComm Australia – supports the telco’s high speed Dual Channel HSPA+ network that is available in 60% of Australia but only offers speeds of up to 20Mbps compared to Telstra’s 4G network speeds of up to 40Mbps in capital cities. That said, the gateway, which allows businesses to create a Wi-Fi hotspot using the b, g or n standards, is the fastest sold by the company yet, offering capabilities to connect up to 16 wireless and four wired clients to the Internet over Telstra’s 3G network. “The Ultimate Gateway is the fastest mobile gateway device in Australia and allows businesses to connect teams or multiple Wi-Fi-enabled devices wherever there is Next G network coverage and power,” Anthea Roberts, Director of Telstra Mobile Broadband said in a statement. “We’ve worked to make the set up of this portable device as straightforward as possible and in minutes, customers can connect up to 16 wireless and four wired devices to the net.” The Ultimate Gateway is a step up from the Turbo Gateway that Telstra launched earlier this year — the Ultimate Gateway has double the number of Ethernet ports (4) and USB 2.0 ports (2). The Turbo too is made in partnership with Netcomm, but only offers customers speeds of up to 3Mbps. It’s also $60 cheaper than the new Ultimate Gateway when purchased outright. The Ultimate Gateway can be purchased in full for $399, or for $89 per month on the company’s Mobile Broadband Standard Plan over 24 months (includes 15GB of data per month) and is available now.

Globe, Altimax say co-use allowed

Globe Telecom Inc.’s subsidiary Innove Communication Inc. and Altimax Broadcasting Corp. recently said their co-use of a frequency for broadband services is allowed by law. Globe and Altimax, in a joint answer to Smart Telecom’s petition asking the regulator to issue a cease and desist order against Altimax for leasing its frequency with Globe, said co-use is different from leasing. "Under pertinent law, rules and regulation, frequency co-sharing or co-use is not prohibited but is in fact encouraged and legally mandated as a matter of practice and policy of and before the (National Telecommunications Commission)," Globe and Altimax said. "No exclusive or sole use right was granted Altimax to its assigned frequencies nor was there any prohibition against its sharing said frequencies," they said. Globe and Altimax also filed a counter petition asking the regulator to immediately recall all the frequencies held by Smart for immediate divestment to qualified telecom companies. "Smart has no legal personality/capacity and is not legally qualified to provide telecommunication services in the Philippines since it is not a Philippine public utility or a Philippine national. It is a subsidiary 100 percent owned by PLDT, a corporation declared by no less than the Supreme Court en banc in Gamboa as 64 percent owned and controlled by foreigners," the two companies said. The regulator has postponed twice the public hearing set last month due to Globe and Altimax’s failure to file their joint answer to the Smart complaint. Another hearing was set for November 9. The PLDT wireless subsidiary is asking the NTC to issue a cease and desist order that would stop Globe from using the broadcast frequencies that had been assigned to Altimax. These frequencies had been granted to Altimax for the purpose of offering broadcast TV services. However, Globe is using these to offer broadband internet services under a 2009 lease agreement with Altimax. Smart has asked the NTC to recall the 30 megahertz of frequencies assigned to Altimax and to make these available for application by qualified telecoms operators.

Telco firms told to offer more ‘M2M’ solutions

“There will be opportunities … in almost all M2M segments,” Jim Morrish, director for Machina Research, said in an e-mail last week, noting that most of such wired and wireless applications between machines do not require a lot of bandwidth. “Clearly, Philippine telecoms companies will need to invest to manage traffic from mobile broadband type solutions (dongles, tablets, etc.) But beyond that, the additional requirements to support M2M applications will mostly be limited,” Mr. Morrish said. Mr. Morrish said mobile connections are expected to rise to 135 million in 2020 from 80 million today. “There is a lot more value in the products and services wrapped around a connection than in the connection itself, and the best way to realise that value is through partnership,” he added. “The advice to telecom operators in the Philippines is the same as in many other markets: partner with specialists in different industry sectors to develop successful solutions,” he said. Sought for comment, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. said the firm is already beefing up its M2M solutions portfolio. “We are already building the business in that direction,” Ramon R. Isberto, PLDT spokesperson, said in a telephone interview on Friday. “We have specific applications for different enterprises and our corporate business group is the one developing the applications,” he added. One of the M2M applications PLDT offers is the PLDT Guardian, which provides security by allowing owners or managers to connect and monitor company facilities from a remote location. “We are exploring and will be exploring in the near future,” Mr. Isberto said. Ayala-led Globe Telecom, Inc. also offers M2M solutions, such as for monitoring company facilities from a different location.

PLDT-Globe war continues

The conflict between rivals Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecom Inc. continues even after the telco leader had clinched all the conditions it sought from regulators for the approval of its deal with Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) last week. Innove Communications Inc., a Globe subsidiary, asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Friday to dismiss the complaint filed by Smart Communications Inc. against it and Altimax Broadcasting Co. Inc. for lack of merit, based on the assumption that Smart is a foreign corporation. “Smart is a foreign corporation, not a Philippine public utility or a Philippine national, owing to its being a 100-percent subsidiary of PLDT, a company declared by the Supreme Court in Gamboa v Teves to be a 64-percent foreign-owned and controlled corporation,” Globe said in its 39-page motion. Therefore, Innove said, Smart is not qualified to engage in the telecommunications service. Along with this argument, Innove asked the NTC to order Smart to divest all of its assigned frequencies and to revoke all of its licenses and permits. Smart has already captured 50 percent of the second-generation (2G) bandwidth, and 56 percent of the third-generation (3G) spectra with its parent company’s acquisition of Digitel. If these frequencies are not returned to the state, Innove said Smart’s continued retention of the authorizations and frequencies cited will cause irreparable injury to other carriers which, in the aftermath of the PLDT-Digitel deal, badly need additional frequencies in order to continue competing effectively in the market and expand its operations. “Evidently, the present complaint is nothing more than a recurrent case of Smart rearing its ugly monopolistic head…Now it unquenchingly hungers and thirsts for more, this time in the BWA [broadband wireless access] band, even though it does not need it. If this is not a case of corporate avarice, respondents do not know what is,” Innove said. Smart, in its complaint with the NTC, sought an immediate stop to Innove’s use of the broadcast frequencies in the 2597-2627 bandwidth that had been assigned to Altimax. The cellular unit of PLDT asked the NTC to recall the 30 megahertz (MHz) of frequencies assigned to Altimax and make these available to qualified telecoms operators. These frequencies had been granted to Altimax for the purpose of offering broadcast TV services, said Smart. However, Globe is using these to offer broadband Internet services under a 2009 lease agreement with Altimax.

FCC Forges Ahead With Broadband Buildout Plans

The Federal Communications Commission has voted unanimously to reform the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation system. It is creating a new Connect America Fund, with a budget of US$4.5 billion to meet the end-goal of this policy shift: extending broadband infrastructure to rural Americans, as opposed to subsidizing rural phone service. That in itself could be seen as controversial: Certainly there are people in these areas -- to say nothing of their representatives in Congress -- who do not wish to see these subsidies end and have no interest in broadband-based services. However, that issue only scratches the surface of the potential conflicts triggered by this reform. Winners and Losers The policy change is pitting carriers such as AT&T (NYSE: T) against providers poised to benefit from the change, such as Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK). The new policy also is dependent on the premise that the FCC has the authority to regulate VoIP calls, which has not been established yet. The FCC, for its part, prefers to focus on the end-game. "The FCC's reforms will transform antiquated systems designed for the telephone era -- the Universal Service Fund and a related system of payments between phone companies known as Intercarrier Compensation," FCC spokesperson Mark Wigfield told the E-Commerce Times. By contrast, the Connect America Fund will extend 21st century broadband and mobility to rural America, he said. Just Part of the Transition For rural Americans who don't want to part with their telephone subsidies, tech analyst Jeff Kagan expressed his sympathies -- but added they will have to accept the transition. "There are limited dollars available. so the FCC has to reapportion its resources," he told the E-Commerce Times. "In general, communications are moving to broadband. It delivers telephone, TV and the Internet. We are only at the beginning of that curve." Transitions "are always noisy, awkward and messy," he said. "Eventually, we will get there. We may see pushback, stalling and other tactics, but we will get there." The Question of VoIP Carriers, needless to say, don't have to be convinced of the value of broadband. However, the FCC's position is going to lead to policy warfare between companies that focus on broadband and those that focus on more traditional services, T. Barton Carter, a professor of communication and law at Boston University, told the E-Commerce Times. AT&T has been reported as saying it will not collect the necessary fees, he noted. "What complicates this whole issue is VoIP," Carter continued. "The FCC has been struggling how to classify it, whether it is an information or phone service." From the 30,000 foot view, he explained, the issue is relatively simple: "This is reflective of the Obama administration's initiative to provide broadband access to people who don't have it. But like many things, the devil will be in the details as to who gets charged the fees for this, what regulations will apply, and how VoIP services are defined." From an even loftier perspective, the FCC does have a point, Carter said. "This is reflective of the struggle to shift from old communication technologies to new communication technologies with legislation that was written in the pre-broadband era." The last major piece of legislation was the Communications Act of 1996. "That is the legal basis on which these regulations are being crafted," said Carter. "To say we are in a different world now is a vast understatement." Protests Are Coming Given the various viewpoints, Carter anticipates any number of actions to stymie this move. Carriers can challenge any FCC action, either directly or indirectly, by not collecting fees, as AT&T has suggested. It would be up to the FCC to enforce the fees, which would invite another round of regulatory hearings and comment-making. Finally, the carriers can fall on their last resort, Carter said -- appealing to Congress. "It has been tried before and it will be tried again."

Motorola Droid Bionic has dual core processor, Android OS, 4G LTE speed, and a new lower retail price of only $119

The Motorola Droid Bionic 4G Android smartphone is the first handset with a dual core processing chip set to arrive on Verizon’s 4G LTE wireless broadband network. If you bear in mind that the first phone on the Verizon 4G LTE (the HTC Thunderbolt) set upload and download speed records with a single core processor, you understand the implications of this first marriage between a dual core processor and the Verizon 4G LTE. Motorola also chose a processor and software set for the Droid Bionic so that it could effectively mimic the processing equipment in a desktop or entry-level laptop PC. Accordingly, Motorola’s WebTop docking station allows the Droid Bionic to effectively access an HDMI-out port and three additional USB ports. Using those USB ports to hook up a computer monitor, keyboard and mouse delivers entry-level desktop functionality to the Droid Bionic 4G handset. The same PC functionality is given to the Motorola Droid Bionic when it is docked into the Lapdock laptop docking station which provides 8 hours of additional battery run time and an 11.6 inch laptop display. When used as a desktop or laptop PC, a fully functional Mozilla Firefox web browser is employed. The processing and software set that Motorola uses to power not only its multitasking and multimedia requests as a smartphone, but also this PC functionality, consists of one gigabyte of RAM memory, 2 GB of ROM memory, and a dual core 1 GHz ARM Cortex A9 processor, along with a ULP GeForce GPU and Tegra 2 AP20H chip set. 16 GB of storage space is also built in, with the ability to upgrade to 32 GB when employing the built-in microSD slot. Motorola has added a 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen display which supports 16 million colors, and delivers 540 x 960 pixel resolution. Anything on that display can also be mirrored to a big screen HDTV or monitor via the HDMI port, or wireless DLNA technology built into the handset. 10.83 hours of continuous talk time is well ahead of the 4G average of 8 hours, and social applications Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa, Twitter and YouTube are preloaded into the handset. The Motorola Droid Bionic 4G Android smartphone is available exclusively on the Verizon 4G LTE network for a retail price of $119.99 with a two-year activation.

Philippine inmates go online to honor the dead

The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) will implement an e-Undas scheme, which will allow inmates of the maximum security compound to pay an online visit to their dead loved ones. Superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf, head of the NBP, said the scheme will be implemented from 8am to 9pm from October 31 to November 1. Throught the scheme, the inmates’ relatives only have to bring a broadband dongle and a laptop to the cemetery to allow the inmates a virtual visit through Skype. The inmates, meanwhile, will use the Apple computers inside the e-Dalaw booth. The e-Undas scheme is under the e-Dalaw program which allows the inmates to contact their relatives all over the world.

Investing in e-learning, future

Technology has made almost every experience virtual—from making friends and talking with them to doing business with other people. Education has followed suit with e-learning. Today’s learners are tech-savvy digital natives—mobile phone toting, Internet surfing and RPG-game playing youngsters. Steve Jobs, Apple cofounder and former CEO, was one of the first to recognize these digital natives. Apple content-creation tools for education—GarageBand, iMovie and iWork as well as podcasts and apps on virtually every subject matter—are fostering creativity and innovation in classrooms across the globe. “The global outpouring of grief reflects Jobs’ impact on modern life. He blazed trails in education and understood that today’s learners grasp new technologies intuitively,” says Jose Maria T. Policarpio, executive director of education publisher Diwa Learning Systems Inc. Policarpio adds that tapping this intuition is key to helping students perform better academically. “We have to remember, they learn differently and we need to adapt our modes of teaching.” DepEd strategy plan The Department of Education (DepEd) put emphasis on the need to develop e-learning via its five-year Information and Communication Technology for Education (ICT4E) Strategy Plan. ICT4E aims to integrate ICT into every school’s curricula, develop programs, establish infrastructure and come up with a system for evaluating the program’s effectiveness. DepEd has also strove to strengthen its Educational Technology Unit and conduct literacy training among teachers. Two years ago, more than 6,600 schools participated in DepEd’s Internet Connectivity Project. During that time, only 1,936 schools had Internet access. Today, more than 3,127 schools are connected. Low student-computer and teacher-computer ratios pose the biggest challenge to the program, according to an education department report on ICT4E. Infrastructure and teacher competencies are also areas of concern as computer literacy is not a requirement for teacher certification and licensure. But despite all this, the department remains optimistic about the ICT4E program, saying that “meeting challenges by using the tools available creatively is key to effectively integrating ICT.” Private sector DepEd also encourages businesses and other organizations to share their expertise. To date, more than 10,000 teachers have undergone digital-literacy training in partnership with the private sector. The ReImaginED Executive Training, a series of consultations and workshops to help division and regional education administrators use the ICT4E program, is also being implemented. With close to 13 million elementary students and some 5.4 million high-school students bearing the brunt of dwindling national budget allocations and with educators leaving the country to teach abroad, the increase in private-sector support for the country’s public-education system comes at a propitious time. Everyone’s concern As the country struggles to keep the deadline set by the UN-led Millennium Development Goals program, assistance from other sectors has become vital, according to Education Secretary Armin Luistro. “Education isn’t an isolated concern. It is everyone’s concern,” says Luistro. At the Technology Forum on e-Learning early this year at the Asian Institute of Management, Batobalani Foundation Inc. (BBFI) presented its vision for deepening public- and private-sector partnerships for education. BBFI seeks to address the lack of textbooks and other resources for basic education. Inexpensive “E-learning is the easiest and most inexpensive way to transfer knowledge,” says Batobalani Foundation chair Saturnino G. Belen Jr. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel to apply these technologies. For ICT especially, the private sector is in a better position to take up these initiatives because it has the expertise. You have to have hardware, connectivity, content and also training.” BBFI has been pushing the e-learning agenda with various programs, foremost of which is Genyo, an online learning-management system from Diwa Learning Systems Inc. “We want to let people know about the success stories of e-learning, communicate the idea to policymakers that what we would like is for them to support our efforts in bringing e-learning to public schools,” adds Belen. He enumerates the advantages of this partnership. “There is efficiency in cost and effort. We avoid duplicating work and we also ensure the sustainability of projects when the private sector is involved.” Members of the private sector are already heavily invested in e-learning. Digital versions of textbooks, educational magazines and television programs are now available for basic education. e-learning portals and online management programs for students and teachers have also been made available. Teaching today’s learners has become more challenging because technology is fast evolving, according to Policarpio. “Think of it this way. We are preparing them for jobs that don’t yet exist and for technologies that haven’t been invented,” he says. While universities in the country and abroad have integrated ICT into their curricula, Policarpio says there’s a big difference between accessing resources over the Internet and e-learning. “For example, Harvard and Yale have an online portal for learning—a place where they can share their lectures and reports online. But those are just resources anyone can access,” says Policarpio. “e-learning goes beyond that. It melds all kinds of academic activities with ICT.” Accessible degrees As more Asian professionals seek advanced degrees, the demand for institutions to offer a wider array of courses under their distance-education programs has also increased. The number of open universities and institutions in Asia has grown exponentially, with China and India leading the sector’s ranks. The availability of fast broadband Internet in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore has also contributed to the rapid growth of online learning in the region. People holding full-time jobs prefer online education because it doesn’t require them to attend classes on a physical campus. “Many working adults simply do not have the time to attend face-to-face lectures delivered in conventional universities,” says Wong Tat Meng, president of the Asian Association of Open Universities. “Also, governments simply cannot build sufficient brick-and-mortar universities fast enough to meet the huge demand for knowledge workers needed to drive the knowledge economy. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Wong, also vice chancellor of Malaysia’s Wawasan Open University, says that geography has become less of a factor in pursuing a degree and that the Internet has “taken the ‘distance’ out of distance education.” Asia e University The demand for better higher education has led to the establishment of the Asia e University in 2008. Made up of 31 member-countries under the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, the university has 3,000 students enrolled in its postgraduate, undergraduate and executive programs. Despite the upswing in distance education, some critics argue that online learning may not be enough to bridge Asia’s tertiary education gap. In “The Innovative University: Changing the DNA of Higher Education from the Inside Out,” authors Clayton M. Christensen and Henry J. Eyring point out that the increase in the number of institutions offering degrees online does not guarantee the increase in competent graduates. National Open University Experts also suggest that inferior Internet service in many parts of Asia discourage potential students from getting their degrees online. In the Philippines, House Bill No. 4883, which seeks to declare the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) the national Open University of the Philippines has reached its final reading in the House of Representatives. Also known as the “Open Learning and Distance Education Act of 2011,” it seeks to make distance learning more accessible to Filipinos and to institute policies that ensure the quality of these distance-education programs. Under HB 4883, the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will regulate the distance-education programs offered by secondary schools. The development of new programs will be led by UPOU. Other tertiary institutions in the country offering distance-learning programs include the Philippine Women’s University (PWU), De La Salle University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. Six characteristics However, despite these initiatives, many are still at a loss on what e-learning and ICT integrated education are. In 2001, Louis Bonder of the University of Amsterdam, presented six key characteristics of e-learning: Digitization of course materials Delivery of the materials regardless of the learner’s location Learner studying at his or her own pace Information must be free-flowing Platforms must be interactive Learning must be collaborative In the Philippines, a number of e-learning products and services are available. These include libraries where students can access the Online Public Access Catalog to locate the physical copies of the references they need, public domain reference collections and online encyclopedias. Online coursework To support their open university and distance-learning programs, UP and the PWU have made content and coursework available online. Leading IT companies such as Microsoft, Intel and Oracle have also partnered with DepEd to provide management tools and resources for teachers. While many private grade schools and high schools such as Don Bosco, Lourdes School of Mandaluyong, Hope Christian School, First Asia Institute of Technology and Huamanities and Saint Paul University Philippines have successfully integrated ICT into their lessons, public basic education is still lagging behind. Changing mindset Felix Librero of UPOU says that aside from infrastructure and teacher-training difficulties, the most serious hurdle e-learning in the country faces is the mindset. In a paper he presented at the Symposium on Digital Learning in Keio University, Japan, he says that “most of our teachers, policy makers and decision makers are still steeped in the conventional learning norm, that is teacher-centered learning.” Librero says that “as long as they remain convinced that we should not shift to a learner-centered (student-centered) mindset, digital learning will simply remain a good idea and learners who’ve been used to traditional methods must be ready to take responsibility for their learning in an ICT integrated classroom.” (Martinez-Castillo, an Ateneo de Manila University graduate, major in European languages, works for RubyComm-K. Austria Public Relations Consultants.)

Globe Tattoo Customizable Plans

Now, you can customize your Home Broadband Plan according to your lifestyle. With Tattoo’s Broadband Customizable Plans—the first in the country—you can enjoy not just the WiMax Plan of your choice but also all the Add-ons you need! Increase your speed when you want it with SPEED BOOST ADD-ONS. For as low as P150, you can boost your WiMax Base Plan speed by 1 Mbps on certain time periods of the day—whether it’s for late night video downloading, heavy browsing during lunch break, or online gaming until dawn. Make the most of your landline service experience with VOICE ADD-ONS. Call Waiting– Receive calls while engaged in a conversation with another caller. Call Forwarding – Divert calls from a landline to either a mobile phone or another landline phone. Multi-Calling – Engage in a group conversation with only one landline phone. Caller ID – View the caller's telephone number before answering any calls. WiMax Internet Only Internet and Landline BASE PLANS 795 995 995 1295 YOU GET: Up to Speed (DL) 512 Kbps 1 Mbps 512 Kbps 1 Mbps SPEED BOOST PLUS 1 MBPS Night Speed Boost 10 PM–2 AM P200 Day Speed Boost 10 AM–2 PM P250 Insomniac Speed Boost 2 AM–6 AM P150 VOICE Call Forwarding P55 Call Waiting P55 Multi-Calling P55 Caller ID* P110 *Caller ID subscription assumes that subscriber already has a compatible caller-ID telephone set. Option to get a compatible telephone set is also available with an upfront payment. **Speed Boosts are not yet available for Tattoo DSL. If included in the plan of your choice, you will only be charged for your regular plan until Speed Boosts are made available. ***Learn more about Globe’s Acceptable Terms on Fair Usage.

Time Warner Cable Steps Up Broadband Push

Time Warner Cable is stepping up marketing efforts to get the 3.7 million video customers in its footprint that don't currently subscribe to its high-speed data package on the rolls, chief operating officer Rob Marcus told analysts Thursday. Marcus, speaking on a conference call with analysts to discuss third quarter results, said the nation's second largest MSO is building "action-oriented" marketing organization specifically focused on getting, keeping and growing subscribers. On the acquisition side, the priority is on extending its broadband reach. Marcus estimated that currently about 3.7 million cable video customers in its footprint either don't buy broadband at all or get it from another source - he estimated 2 million are telco digital subscriber line customers - a fact he called "inexcusable and unacceptable." Marcus didn't want to reveal too many details, but said that past marketing efforts that have centered on speed have missed the mark. "We've discovered is that the naked speed message has been insufficient to win those DSL customers over," Marcus said. "What we need to do is do a better job explaining what speed translates to in terms of the usage experience - no buffering on video consumption, the ability to have more devices connected in a single home without a degradation in the experience. Messages that put some customer behavior color on what's being offered." The redoubled marketing efforts weren't enough to appease investors at least initially, who seemed spooked by the weaker than expected quarterly results and drove Time Warner Cable shares down 8.2% ($5.77 per share) to $64.86 each in early trading Thursday. In a research note, Sanford Bernstein cable and satellite analyst Craig Moffett wrote that broadband performance bolstered weakness in video and phone and is being increasingly asked to carry the rest of the business. He noted that it appears broadband is up to the task. "If broadband is the anchor product, then video is increasingly simply the anchor. Subscribers are falling, costs are rising, and margins are contracting," Moffett wrote. Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Glenn Britt has called broadband the anchor product in the past, but video isn't being ignored. Britt said on the call that the company is constantly updating its iPad video app, rolled out whole-home DVR's earlier this year, is testing a home gateway product and has deployed a cloud-based user interface in parts of Syracuse, N.Y., Los Angeles and Dallas that will be launched more broadly in the next several quarters. The MSO's marketing efforts haven't been exclusively tied to broadband, Marcus said TWC recently relaunched its high-end Signature Home efforts with slick television ads that emphasize the luxury lifestyle associated with the product, which has translated into increased call volumes and connections for the product, He estimated that average monthly revenue per customer for Signature Home is about $230, compared to $150 per month for the average triple play customer. Time Warner Cable also has stepped up efforts for its lower end TV Essentials package, which was launched in New York City and Northern Ohio earlier this year. TV Essentials is now available in Upstate New York and should be available throughout the footprint by the end of the year. In addition, the MSO is experimenting with a "light" high-speed data product to pair with the TV Essentials offering. Residential phone performance was soft in the quarter - Time Warner Cable lost 8,000 phone subscribers, the first time in its history - which Marcus attributed in part to a marketing misfire and pricing disparity. He added that the MSO is becoming more aggressive on price, evident by a new $19.95 per month voice bolt-on offering for existing single-play video customers that should drive incremental revenue. Broadband customers are also enjoying some increased benefits. In Los Angeles, for example, Time Warner Cable has created 750 Wi-Fi hotspots in the city that are free for all of its standard tier and above broadband customers. Customers that subscribe to its high-end 50 Megabit per second Wideband50 service also receive 2 Gigabytes of 3G and 4G mobile broadband access at no additional charge. Standard and Turbo customers can receive the 3G and 4G mobile service for an additional $20 per month and Turbo Plus and Wideband 30 customers can get it for an extra $10 monthly charge. Marcus added that Time Warner Cable only began marketing the mobile services last month, but has seen an almost immediate increase in take rates for its higher-end broadband tiers in Los Angeles. "Early indications are that this approach to mobility resonates more than some of the earlier efforts we've made to sell standalone wireless broadband," Marcus said.

Telstra launches portable hotspot in a box

Australian businesses can now take a super-fast network with them when setting up temporary work locations with the launch of the Telstra Ultimate® Gateway – a device that turns a single Telstra Mobile Broadband® service into a portable Wi-Fi and Ethernet hotspot. Developed by NetComm in Australia, the Telstra Ultimate Gateway operates on Australia’s largest and fastest mobile broadband network and allows businesses to easily establish a powerful Wi-Fi and wired network for multiple devices and users. It is up to twice as fast as previous mobile broadband gateways from Telstra*. Anthea Roberts, Director, Telstra Mobile Broadband, said the release of the Ultimate Gateway meant businesses could more easily connect and transact from temporary or mobile work sites. "The Ultimate Gateway is the fastest mobile gateway device in Australia and allows businesses to connect teams or multiple Wi-Fi-enabled devices wherever there is Next G® network coverage and power. We’ve worked to make the set up of this portable device as straightforward as possible and in minutes, customers can connect up to 16 wireless and four wired devices to the net. This makes it incredibly simple to establish internet-powered networks at temporary office locations, conferences, tradeshows, construction sites or when on the road.” The Ultimate Gateway integrates four powerful internal antennas for superior signal strength and provides blistering download speeds ranging from 1.1Mbps to 20Mbps in Telstra 3G Dual Channel HSPA+ enabled coverage areas which span more than 60 per cent of the Australian population and include Australia’s capital cities and many metropolitan and regional areas*. In remaining metropolitan areas and other selected regional areas, the Ultimate Gateway provides download speeds ranging from 550kbps to 8Mbps and in other coverage areas speeds ranging from 550kbps to 3Mbps. David Stewart, Managing Director, NetComm, said "The Gateway was designed to optimise network and technology advances while offering a whole new dimension of freedom when used in conjunction with 'on-demand' Internet based service such as cloud computing." The Telstra Ultimate Gateway supports fast Wi-Fi n connectivity (as well as Wi-Fi b and g) for maximum Wi-Fi performance and security. It comes with two built-in USB 2.0 ports that customer can use to share access to a printer or mass storage device. The Telstra Ultimate Gateway is the first portable mobile broadband gateway in Australia to use advanced dual channel HSPA+ technology which is available exclusively in Australia on the Telstra Next G® network – Australia’s fastest national mobile broadband network. Pricing and availability The Telstra Ultimate® Mobile Broadband Gateway is now available from Telstra Business Centres and select Telstra Stores. It can be purchased by business customers on a range of plans including for $0 upfront on the $89 Telstra Mobile Broadband Standard Plan over 24 months with 15GB included data to use in Australia each month (min cost $ 2,136). The Telstra Ultimate Gateway can also be purchased outright for RRP $399. For more information, customers can visit: www.telstra.com/business/gateways *Actual speeds vary due to factors such as distance from the base station, local terrain, user numbers, hardware & software configuration and download source/upload destination. Note also, if multiple users access the device the typical speed ranges per user may be reduced.

Broadband subsidies aim to bring 4Mbps service to unserved areas

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a sweeping overhaul of the nation's Universal Service Fund. The USF currently subsidizes traditional phone service in rural areas, but the plan proposed by Chairman Julius Genachowski will shift that money to support the buildout of broadband networks. The FCC also approved a gradual phase-out of the "intercarrier compensation" scheme, in which the company that originates a phone call pays the other company to terminate it. In its place, the FCC will institute an Internet-style "bill and keep" scheme in which each company bills its own customers and exchanges traffic without money changing hands. Oh yeah, and there will probably be a new "Access Recovery Charge" on your monthly phone bill. The USF has exploded in recent years. It paid out just $1.7 billion in 1998. Last year, subscribers were charged more than $4 billion. The FCC pledges to cap this spending at $4.5 billion per year for the next six years. And it will gradually shift those subsidies from supporting phone service to supporting broadband. Specifically: Carriers that elect to receive this additional support must provide broadband with actual speeds of at least 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, with latency suitable for real-time applications and services such as VoIP, and with monthly usage capacity reasonably comparable to that of residential terrestrial fixed broadband offerings in urban areas. The plan also sets aside money for expanding mobile broadband service in rural areas. Wireless firms that take FCC money must "deploy 4G service within three years, or 3G service within two years, accelerating the migration to 4G" in areas that don't currently enjoy wireless broadband service. The FCC will also earmark some money to support wireless infrastructure on Tribal lands. At the same time, the FCC has ambitious plans for the nation's outdated rules for voice network interconnection. When a traditional long-distance phone call is made, the company originating the call pays "intercarrier compensation" (ICC) to the company terminating the call. As long distance rates have dropped, this provision has been a growing source of mischief, as some firms have artificially inflated their traffic to earn ICC revenues, and other firms retaliated by obfuscating the source of their calls to avoid paying the fees. The FCC wants to get rid of the whole mess, and replace it with something like the "bill and keep" system that prevails on the Internet. In this scheme, firms simply bill their own customers and keep the money. In cases where firms need subsidies to stay in business, they are expected to look toward the USF fund, not other carriers, to make up the difference. In theory, the result should be more transparency and less game-playing. However, the FCC apparently believes that a quick transition to bill-and-keep would leave some network providers unable to pay their bills. And so it is allowing companies to charge their customers a "new recovery mechanism" (read: subscriber fee) of up to 50¢ per month, to make up for revenue they're losing due to the loss of ICC fees. "We share the concerns of other consumer organizations that the Commission's actions will lead to higher prices at a time when the average American is watching every penny," said Gigi Sohn, president of the advocacy group Public Knowledge, which declared itself "skeptical" of the plan. We are too. The system desperately needed reform, and this plan is probably an improvement over the old system, which also featured rising costs. But with telecommunications costs plunging, we would have preferred a plan that led to lower fees rather than higher ones.

Selling Our Wireless Future

As the deficit supercommittee searches every corner to make budgetary ends meet, one solution they are considering, "incentive auctions" of the TV bands, could threaten the future of wireless innovation. These auctions may lock in an outdated regulatory paradigm, strengthen the dominant mobile broadband carriers, and block the path for some of the most innovative wireless technologies that could improve mobile broadband speed and reduce its price over the next decade. In return, the revenue they will raise is a very modest 1.5 percent of the 1.6 trillion dollar package. The auctions would trade off a small short-term revenue gain for less growth and innovation over the coming decade. The proposed spectrum auctions are being promoted under the false premise that boosting mobile broadband, smart grid communications, inventory management systems, mobile payments, and health monitoring requires auctioning exclusive pieces of licensed spectrum. In reality, these markets are fast developing through unlicensed wireless applications, like WiFi. When the iPhone crashed AT&T's mobile broadband capacity, the company didn't buy more spectrum on secondary markets; it used WiFi to carry much of the data. In the past year WiFi traffic on AT&T's hotspots has tripled. Today, about half of iPhone and 90 percent of iPad page views are carried over WiFi. Indeed, almost two-thirds of all smartphone and tablet data traffic is carried over WiFi rather than over the carriers' networks, whose hunger is driving the demand for auctioning TV bands. In Japan, a good place to see the near future of mobile broadband, the second largest mobile carrier contracted a California firm to roll out 100,000 hotspots as a core strategy for its next generation mobile broadband network. But it's not only mobile broadband. When you use your E-Z Pass at a toll booth or Speedpass at the gas station, you use unlicensed technology like WiFi, but in a different band. When Wal-Mart moved its field-defining inventory management system to the next generation, it used technology that uses spectrum on the same principle: unlicensed wireless. Almost the entire market for inventory management and access control is now driven by unlicensed wireless technologies. Almost seventy percent of U.S. Smart Grid communications market is served by firms that use WiFi and similar technologies, and by a one recent account, about eighty percent of the wireless market in the healthcare sector depends on an array of unlicensed strategies. These dynamic markets are telling us something new: The future of wireless will likely be mostly unlicensed, with an important, but residual role of auctioned, licensed services. And yet the drive to auctions simply ignores the evidence from actual markets in favor of an outmoded regulatory ideal that is the opposite of what cutting edge radio engineering and dynamic markets show. Most of these applications were developed using junk bands, where regulators dumped industrial equipment and microwave ovens. They thrived even in these harsh conditions, but in an effort to open up new, less wasteland-like areas for these dynamic, innovative technologies, the last Republican and current Democratic FCC chairs presided over the bipartisan creation of TV White Spaces, a policy that permits device manufacturers to expand the capabilities of unlicensed devices by sharing the TV bands with broadcasters. The TV Band auctions being pushed through the supercommittee threaten to displace these white space devices. As we look at the enormous success of unlicensed wireless strategies across the most dynamic markets, we see that doing so is penny wise, pound foolish. Not only will auctions burden development of unlicensed strategies, if the last major auction is any indication, they will allow AT&T and Verizon to foreclose competition in their markets. When AT&T argued in defense of its T-Mobile merger, it said that T-Mobile wasn't much of a competitor "without the spectrum to deploy a 4G LTE network." But the reason T-Mobile lacks that spectrum is that Verizon and AT&T already own 78 percent of the spectrum bands needed. The new auctions would extend Verizon and AT&T's foreclosure to the TV Bands as well, constraining not only competitors like T-Mobile, but the whole field of unlicensed strategies as well. As a revenue source, spectrum auctions are a particularly pernicious tax on wireless innovation. They pick the wrong technology for wireless infrastructure by regulatory fiat, and strengthen the market dominance of already-dominant players. The costs of this policy to innovation and growth greatly outweigh its revenue benefits, and the supercommittee simply does not have the time to learn enough to avoid doing more harm than good.

Globe Tattoo’s search

Globe-powered Tattoo gives everyone the chance to manifest their individuality and wear their choice proudly. As the preferred broadband in the country, Tattoo lets users express themselves and get the chance to be seen on an LED billboard along EDSA Paragon, Lawton and Katipunan. To join, simply “Like” the Tattoo Facebook page to access the “I Choose Tattoo” Facebook App where you can upload your picture. Photos to be submitted must highlight the phrase “I Choose Tattoo” on a body part and can be written, tattooed, painted or done in any manner as long as it’s visible. The image should include the user’s face and must specifically be 300dpi and at least 5” x 7” in size. On Nov. 25, a grand raffle draw will be held to determine the two lucky winners who will each receive P35,000 cash, a Samsung Galaxy Tab and a Tattoo MyFi Stick for easy access to the Net anytime, anywhere. The promo is open to all interested Facebook users in the Philippines. Deadline of submission of entries is on Nov. 17.

Broadcom wireless gains hides broadband slide

Broadcom says it is making more and more inroads into cellular chipsets. But its traditional markets are being subdued by the tough economy. Reporting quarterly revenues up to $1.96 million, just a tad below the $2 billion mark, most of Broadcom's growth came from cellular, with its traditionally strong Broadband Communications down to $526 million, a fall of about 7% over the quarter a year ago, with a reduced operating income of $99 million. Mobile and Wireless segment jumped from $798 million to $942 with a slightly raised operating income at $171 million. The third segment, Infrastructure and Networking jumped $42 million to $437 million over this time last year. The management talked up the cash flow generation from operations, which it says was 27% of revenue taking cash and marketable securities up to $4.2 billion, record levels. CEO Scott McGregor described a tough business environment and said that the company was keeping a tight rein on expenses with R&D and general overhead down by $21 million on last quarter. In the all-important wireless sector Broadcom preferred to compare its numbers with the immediate past quarter, saying it was 16% higher based on wireless connectivity and cellular baseband sales with significant growth in 3G shipments, to Samsung in particular. Broadcom pushes the idea of 3G baseband integrated with application processors for Android, and says this business is strong, as it leads to affordable smartphones. The company has yet to enter the 4G LTE space A year ago Broadcom bought Beceem Communications for $316 million planning to get into multimode LTE WiMAX handsets, but has so far failed to bring out a product on the back of it. McGregor said that its set top business was stable but that broadband modem sales were soft with DOCSIS 3.0 up and DSL down and once again the company mentioned its full band capture technology which it thinks will get it into satellite TV and help it take a bigger share of cable tuner chips. He also said that revenue at Broadband Communications will be even further down once its decision to get out of DTV and Blu-ray products filters through. Also within Wireless are WiFi and Bluetooth devices and customers are now launching Bluetooth 4.0 chips in smartphones, PC and desktops with Broadcom parts, supporting Bluetooth low energy, which the company says will also open up the deployment of sensor-based products, such as health and fitness monitors and security proximity devices. During the quarter, Broadcom unveiled a new family of NFC chips designed to drive to mass deployment of NFC in consumer electronics devices, being manufactured in 40 nanometers, reducing power consumption by 90%. Broadcom said it is committed to making NFC as ubiquitous as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are today.

PLDT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF DIGITEL Largest Buyout in Philippine Corporate History

First Pacific Company Limited (HKSE: 00142) ("First Pacific" or the "Company") today announced that Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ("PLDT") (NYSE: PLDT) (PSE: TEL) and JG Summit Holdings, Inc ("JGS") (PSE: JGS) earlier today successfully completed the acquisition by PLDT of JGS's and certain other parties' ownership interest in Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. ("Digitel") (PSE: DGTL) in an all-share transaction worth ₱69.2 billion (US$1.6 billion). The agreed consideration of ₱69.2 billion (US$1.6 billion) will be settled by the issuance of one new PLDT share for every ₱2,500 (US$57.6) of the consideration payable to JGS. PLDT will undertake a mandatory tender offer for all the remaining common shares of Digitel held by minority shareholders. Under the terms of the tender offer, Digitel shareholders will be given an option to sell at ₱1.6033 (US$0.037) per Digitel share or swap their holdings for PLDT common shares at a swap ratio of 1,559.28 Digitel shares for every new PLDT common share. If fully taken up, the tender offer would bring the total transaction value to ₱74.1 billion (US$1.7 billion), making it the largest buyout in Philippine corporate history. Completion of the transaction follows confirmation by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission of the valuation of the acquisition assets and approval by the National Telecommunications Commission of the transfer of JGS's and other parties' 51.55% interest in Digitel. PLDT's investment in Digitel is expected to achieve substantial benefits for the consumer and for the shareholders of PLDT and JGS. It will leverage the combined expertise of the PLDT Group and Digitel to create a telecommunications company better positioned to provide higher quality and more affordable services to fixed-line, wireless, and broadband subscribers while addressing a wide range of consumer demands - from voice and SMS to data and Internet and video services. Together, the PLDT Group and Digitel would have approximately 60 million subscribers and approximately 100% network coverage to serve the country's growing demand for wireless services. A Philippine affiliate of First Pacific entered into a put and call option agreement with JGS to acquire 5.81 million PLDT shares from JGS at a price of ₱2,500 (US$57.6) per share for a total consideration of ₱14.5 billion (US$334.7 million). This will allow the First Pacific Group to maintain its investment in PLDT at a level similar to its existing interest. "We are very pleased for PLDT and we look forward to a brighter future for its customers, its shareholders and its businesses following this agreement," said Manuel V. Pangilinan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of First Pacific. "From our perspective at First Pacific, this transaction enhances the future of one of our most important assets."

NTC approves PLDT-Digitel deal

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) yesterday approved the much-awaited merger of the country’s two major telecommunication companies, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.(PLDT) and Digital Telecommunication Philippines Inc. (Digitel), but with strict conditions to ensure that the deal would not lead to monopoly. After 90 days of comprehensive study and evaluation of the deal, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba said in a press briefing that the regulator has approved the sale and transfer to PLDT of initially about 51.55 percent equity in Digitel in accordance with Section 20 of the Public Services Act (CA 146). The landmark share swap transaction between PLDT and JG Summit Holdings Inc. is valued at about P69.2 billion involving 3.277 billion shares representing 51.55 percent of Digitel’s outstanding common stock. The remaining 48.45 percent Digitel stake held by the public was subject to a mandatory tender offer under the following terms and conditions: Digitel shareholders will be given an option to sell at P1.6033 per share or swap their holdings for PLDT common shares at a swap ratio of 1,559.28 Digitel shares for every new PLDT common share. If fully taken up, the tender offer would bring the total transaction value to P74.1 billion. In return, JG Summit would have one seat on the PLDT board, and its majority shareholders NTT DoCoMo and First Pacific Co. Ltd and the minority shareholders in PLDT would be diluted to give way to a 12 percent stake of Digitel’s parent firm to the merged company. PLDT has acquired Digitel in March this year in a deal that generated strong opposition of other telecom players. Cordoba said the regulator’s decision was final as the PLDT-Digitel application did not require congressional approval based on the "Equity of Treatment in the Telecommunications Industry" provision of the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines (Sec. 23, R 7295). Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, said: "PLDT is extremely pleased to welcome Digitel to the PLDT Group. PLDT will continue to provide its consumers with the best value in terms of price, quality and range of products and services and we have committed to continue offering `unlimited’ type of services in fulfillment of this promise." "In addition, Sun subscribers can benefit from PLDT’s extensive infrastructure and varied service offerings," Pangilinan said. James Go, chairman of JG Summit, said: "This transaction ensures that Digitel remains in good hands. Together, the PLDT-Digitel group will be well-positioned to compete not only with formidable existing competitors but with well-funded new entrants as well." Cordoba said that the approval of the transaction is subject to compliance by PLDT and Digitel with certain terms and conditions set by the commission, and the approval of the application shall only take effect upon formal acceptance by the two companies. To resolve the issues on frequency, part of the approval was PLDT shall divest its 10Mhz 3G radio frequency through the sale by Smart Communications Inc., of all its right and interest in Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise (CURE). As part of its approval of the acquisition of Digitel by PLDT, the NTC also approved the divestment plan presented by PLDT, which covers the following commitments: CURE will sell its Red Mobile business to SMART consisting of its subscriber base, brand and fixed assets. SMART will sell all of its rights and interests in CURE whose remaining assets will consist of its congressional franchise, the Affected Frequency and related permits (the "Divestment Sale") Cordoba said that PLDT was given nine months to transfer all the CURE assets and customers to Smart, then the bidding for CURE’s frequency to other telecom companies would be conducted within six months after the transition period. He added that the NTC would likely conduct the bidding by 2013. As part of the contract, the PLDT Group would not be part of the bidding. "The divestment sale will be made under the supervision and control of the NTC and will be effected through a competitive bidding among duly enfranchised and qualified public telecommunication entities. A minimum price will be prescribed to allow SMART to recover its investment in acquiring, developing and operating CURE (the cost recovery amount). In the event that the actual proceeds from the divestment sale exceed the cost recovery amount, PLDT will pay the NTC, as fee for supervising the divestment sale, at least 50 percent of such excess less government fees and taxes payable as a consequence of the divestment sale." Another condition set is that Digitel shall continue to provide nationwide "unlimited" type of offerings and PLDT will keep the mobile operations of Digitel separate. PLDT will capitalize on Sun Cellular’s operation and brand equity to continue serving specific market segments, especially those who prefer unlimited type of services. NTC assured the public that PLDT-Digitel deal would not result in a monopoly. Cordoba said that it has initiated steps to prevent abuse of market power arising from substantial market dominance that could lead to cutthroat competition by imposing certain conditions on the transaction. One of the proposed measures seeks to lower interconnection charges between telecom companies. The regulator has promulgated Memorandum Circular 02-10-2011 reducing interconnection charges for mobile SMS or text messaging services from 36 centavos to 15 centavos which would further reduces the SMS from different network. In addition, NTC is currently fulfilling interconnection between PLDT and Globe Telecom landlines. The local interconnection issues in three provinces -- Pampanga, Bulacan and Zamboanga – have already been resolved. The commission is also working on the promulgation of the guidelines covering domestic internet peering which seeks to achieve faster internet connection. Relative to this, the regulator will conduct a quarterly monitoring of the quality of services to ensure that telco services comply with NTC standards that will start in December this year. The NTC shall enforce rules on minimum speed of broadband connection. Lastly , the NTC will issue rules on significant market power (SMP) in the first quarter next year to provide stricter regulations aimed to discourage abuse of dominant suppliers thus ensuring fair competition in the market to benefit the consumers. Cordoba added that they would be making more memorandum circulars that would lower the voices and landline services. Globe Telecom welcomed PLDT’s divestment of 10Mhz in frequency even as it lauded the NTC’s decision. Froilan Castelo, head of corporate legal services group of Globe, said, "The approval of the joint application with condition to divest PLDT’s 10Mhz 3G frequency is a progressive step for the NTC in promoting consumer welfare and fair competition. Given the length of time this deal has been discussed by several authorities in the government, the media, and private sector, the decision of the regulatory body upholds its support to the industry, ensuring equal opportunities among players to compete, and allowing consumers to enjoy quality services from their chosen service provider. Globe also noted the proactive approach of the NTC to effect local interconnection between Globe and Innove in provincial areas, which benefits subscribers by lowering the cost of landline domestic calls. Globe expects the NTC to come out with a similar pro-consumer position on internet peering to help expand market opportunities in providing internet services in the country.

PLDT-Digitel deal OK’d; regulator sets conditions

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) confirmed that it had greenlighted the P69.2-billion deal -- announced early this year and originally scheduled for completion in June -- but also put in place several conditions that included the dominant telco’s divestment of some of its frequencies. PLDT said it had accepted the NTC’s requirements, while second-ranked Globe Telecom, Inc. -- which had questioned the purchase and claimed that it would lead to a return to a monopoly -- said it was satisfied that regulators had moved to protect consumers and promote fair competition. PLDT’s acquisition of JG Summit Holdings, Inc.’s 51.55% stake in Digitel will give the dominant telco some 70% of the domestic mobile market, leaving Globe about 30%. PLDT said it would soon announce a tender offer for the rest of Digitel. Shortly after PLDT’s announcement, 3.277 billion shares of Digitel changed hands via a cross sale in the stock market at P1.6033 per share. In exchange for the Digitel stake, JG Summit will get 12.9% of PLDT, comprising 27.7 million common shares at P2,500 apiece. PLDT also acquired the zero-coupon convertible bonds issued by Digitel to its parent and assumed P34.1 billion in advances made by JG Summit to Digitel. “After due evaluation of the various factors and issues involved, it has granted the application for approval of the sale and transfer to the PLDT of initially approximately 51.55% equity in Digitel,” NTC commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba said in a press conference. The NTC decision came a day before a 90-day review period was to expire. The protracted regulatory approval period had prompted PLDT and JG Summit to thrice suspend the deal’s planned completion. The regulator said PLDT would have to continue Digitel’s unlimited text and call services. “Regarding the unlimited services, we want it to be permanent, continuous and we want a nationwide-reach [for these services],” Mr. Cordoba said, adding that Digitel’s mobile service should be kept separate. PLDT was also required to divest 10 megahertz of 3G frequencies held by Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprises, Inc. (CURE), a unit of subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. CURE’s frequencies will be auctioned off and PLDT will not be allowed to bid, Mr. Cordoba said. “Another condition requires PLDT and Digitel to continue providing high quality service to their respective subscribers,” he said. “With their combined expertise and resources, it is expected that PLDT and Digitel will attain improved capability in providing better quality and more affordable services to their fixed line, mobile, wireless and broadband subscribers,” he continued. “We would like to assure the general public that the PLDT-Digitel transaction will not result in a monopoly and bring about unhealthy business competition that will be detrimental to the interests of millions of telecom users and subscribers.” In support of this, Mr. Cordoba said the NTC had ordered the lowering of interconnection charges for text messages. The new rate, according the Memorandum Circular 02-10-2011, is P0.15 per text message from P0.35. Complete landline interconnection between PLDT and Globe in provinces will also be pursued, he said. Mr. Cordoba said the regulator was working on guidelines for local IP peering and would be conducting quarterly monitoring of telco providers’ quality of services, enforce rules on minimum Internet speed, and promulgate rules for “significant market power.” “We believe these provisions are enough for consumer protection. There are also pending memorandum circulars such as lowering of interconnection for voice services and for landline services,” he said. In a disclosure, PLDT said it and Digitel had “manifested their acceptance of the conditions contained in the decision”. In a separate statement, the telco said it would conduct a mandatory tender offer for the remaining 48.45% of Digitel on a date yet to be announced. If the offer is fully taken up, the transaction value will increase to P74.1 billion. Asked to comment on the NTC decision, Globe President and CEO Ernest L. Cu said the “general terms are acceptable.” Globe, in a statement, said: “the approval... with condition to divest PLDT’s 10Mhz 3G frequency is a progressive step for the NTC in promoting consumer welfare and fair competition.” PLDT shares closed 1.04% or P24 higher at P2,330 apiece yesterday, while JG Summit Holdings was up 1.78% or P0.45 to P25.70 per share. Digitel gained 0.65% or P0.01 to close at P1.54 per, while Globe Telecom shares lost 0.89% or P8 to end the day at P892 apiece. Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT, has a minority stake in BusinessWorld.

Philippine mobile: a two-horse race

Those with fast fingers in the world’s texting capital now have a choice of just two mobile providers after Philippines’ biggest ever M&A deal. After a seven-month review, Philippine regulators cleared the takeover of Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) by the dominant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT). The ruling will in effect hand PLDT control of 70 per cent of one of Asia’s most lucrative phone markets. The rest of the market is owned by rival Globe Telecom, giving rise to a wireless phone duopoly. PLDT, partly owned by First Pacific Co Ltd of Hong Kong, and NTT Communications and NTT DoCoMo of Japan, said on Wednesday it had completed the acquisition of 51.6 per cent of Digitel, the country’s third biggest phone company, for 69.2bn pesos ($1.6bn). The deal, the country’s biggest M&A transaction, was first agreed in March but had to undergo regulatory review lasting seven months. The regulator, National Telecommunications Commission, was under pressure from Globe Telecoms, consumer groups and politicians to block the deal. They feared it would give PLDT too much market power that could leave consumers with fewer choices and higher costs. Their fears are not without their merits. Digitel is an aggressive player whose low-priced offers made it popular with consumers. It rapidly grew its market share to 16 per cent, and forced both PLDT and Globe to match its affordable wireless voice, messaging and broadband services, narrowing the two companies’ margins considerably. Even the country’s president, Benigno Aquino III, had expressed apprehensions about the anti-competitive risks posed by the PLDT-Digitel merger. Still, regulators had no choice but to approve it in the absence of an anti-trust law the country. The Philippine Congress is still debating the provisions of a competition law that will empower agencies to implement various anti-monopoly provisions in the constitution and legal statutes. The most that the regulators were able to do was order PLDT to divest another telecoms unit that owns 10 megahertz of 3G frequencies, and to continue Digitel’s popular unlimited call and text offers. The regulators said the approval for the PLDT-Digitel merger was conditional, and could be revoked if they violated the conditions. “In case any of the applicants fail to comply with the conditions, then the decision itself will be declared null and void, meaning the merger, in case, the parties fail to comply with it, it will be nullified,” said Carlo Jose Martinez, one of the telecommunications regulators. Until the country’s lawmakers approve a good anti-trust law, the regulators’ cautionary words will remain just that no matter how tough they sound.

Network storage - luxury or necessity?

Should there be a NAS in every home? Digital cameras have long been mainstream devices, but it amazes me how few people seem to backup their digital photos. The rise of the smartphone has only made the situation worse, as phones have become the day-to-day happy snapper for many people but they often forget to copy the photos across to their computer. I regularly hear horror stories of people losing months or even years worth of photos after a hard drive failed or a smartphone upgrade went sour. In the years to come you can be sure there will be lots of people with no baby photos to show at their 21st birthday after their parents lost everything in a digital disaster. There are no second chances, once it's gone it's gone. These days I think every household with more than one computer should invest in a Network Attached Storage drive, considering you’ll get change from $200 for a basic 1TB network drive. Plug it into your broadband modem via Ethernet and it’s now available to every device on your home network, like your own personal cloud. Basic NAS drives are very easy to set up and most come with basic software for automating backups from your computers. You’ll also find backup features built into Windows and Mac OS, plus a wide range of third party apps. I find automated backups are the best because they don’t rely on you remembering to do anything. When you copy photos from your camera or smartphone to your computer, you want to make sure they’re automatically copied to the network drive as a backup. Network drives are especially useful if you’ve got notebooks as, unlike a desktop, it’s not practical to leave a USB drive constantly hanging off the side of a notebook. A friend of mine has filled up the hard drive on his old notebook and was thinking about buying a USB drive for extra storage but I convinced him to spend extra on a basic network drive. Now that extra storage is available whether he’s using the notebook while sitting at the table, lounging on the couch or resting in bed. The drive is DLNA-enabled, so it might eventually be used as a media server as well. A network drive might protect against hard drive failure, but your data is still on the premises so it’s vulnerable to fire and theft. That’s why it’s also important to keep an offsite backup of irreplaceable files such as family photos. I store mine on a computer and a network drive, plus I upload them to an online storage service and also burn them to DVD which I leave at a relative’s house. I always imagined that one day every house would have a consumer-friendly server, for storing backups and streaming media around the home. Many tech-savvy people already do this, but now I don’t think it will become mainstream because the cloud will take over instead. This might be more convenient than a home NAS or server, but you’re now trusting someone else to keep your data safe. For now I still think the best strategy is to keep both onsite and offsite backups, just to play it safe. What’s your backup strategy? Have you helped less tech-savvy friends and relatives put a backup system in place before disaster strikes (or maybe after)?

USB Modems Continue to Outstrip Embedded as Mobile Broadband Modem Shipments Grow to 150 Million in 2011, Says ABI Research

The USB modem form-factor continues to lead the pack in mobile broadband modem shipment volumes, with an estimated 110 million units shipping worldwide in 2011. This form-factor, along with embedded modem modules and mobile hotspot routers, will contribute to the market's 46% YoY growth, with an estimated 150 million total shipments in 2011. "USB dominates the market due to its relatively low cost and easy use, as it's often used as an after-market upgrade for computer owners," says Jeff Orr, group director, mobile devices. "As more 3G networks come online and as new 4G ones emerge, this lends itself toward an upgrade market opportunity for USB modems, followed by new PC purchases with an embedded modem module." Embedded modem modules enjoyed the second largest market share, with a forecast of 30 million units shipped in 2011 to PC and CE device manufacturers. The majority of this growth is due to the rapid adoption of 3G-enabled media tablets, such as Apple's iPad 2. Mobile hotspot routers will also grow at a respectable 50% YoY as this segment continues to gain awareness. PC Cards will have the smallest number of shipments, with only one million devices shipped for 2011. ABI Research's new market data, "Cellular and Mobile Broadband PC Modem Market Data," ( http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1003050 ) provides market share and shipment forecast data for cellular and mobile broadband modems used to supply wireless WAN connectivity to laptop and netbook computers. Modems come in four form-factors: PC Cards, USB dongles, embedded modem modules, and WWAN/Wi-Fi routers with integrated modems.

Mobile views of websites see strong growth

Effective Measure, a leading provider of digital media planning solutions in emerging markets, has reported that over 115 million web pages are viewed on mobile devices in the month of September 2011 in Malaysia - attributing to a 6% increase in mobile page views from the start of the year. Effective Measure SEA regional director, Russell Conrad, said, "The increasing number of web pages being viewed on mobile points to a growing, tech-savvy Malaysian audience. "With over 30% of Malaysians polled saying they access the Internet from their mobile phones, we expect to see a steady increase in page views from mobile looking ahead- in line with the introduction of better broadband connectivity and low price point smartphones. Number of page views from mobile in other South East Asian countries in September: Indonesia: 85 million Philippines: 25 million Singapore: 26 million Thailand: 69 million Vietnam: 22 million "The Internet knows no boundaries - advertisers and online publishers should explore the opportunities in producing mobile-friendly content, if they have not done so already," said Conrad. Consumer electronic sites most viewed on mobile Consumer electronics and technology websites in Philippines were the most viewed on mobile - with a significant 12% of web pages in this category viewed on mobile devices in September, a 7% increase from the 'All Categories' monthly average. Conrad said: "Consumer electronic sites performed well above all categories, highlighting the Filipino audience's keen interest in electronic products. "With almost 40% of Filipinos polled saying they access the Internet from their mobile phones, we expect to see a steady increase in page views from mobile across more categories looking ahead - in line the increasing popularity of newly released smartphones such as iPhone 4S. Effective Measure top 10 site categories with highest mobile access to web pages, Sept 2011 "As most Filipinos users regard themselves as 'Mavens' - inquisitive, information seekers, mobile-friendly content will be warmly welcomed if made easily available and engaging," said Conrad.

Huawei enters the tablet genre

Prepare for the world’s first 7-inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet courtesy of global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei Device. Huawei recently offered a sneek peak to the look, the feel, and the features of this latest breakthrough device called the MediaPad which is set to be out to the local market sometime this November. The MediaPad is powered by Qualcomm’s dual-core 1.2GHZ processor and supported by Google Android Market. It boasts of an eight-gigabyte storage capacity that is expandable to 32 GB. Dubbed as Huawei Device’s smartest, slimmest and lightest tablet to date, the MediaPad measures 10.5 mm and weighs about 390 g. The device supports 1080P full HD video playback and is equipped with a 5 megapixel rear camera with HD recording capabilities and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. "Huawei is very pleased to be the first to offer this package to consumers globally and most especially here in the Philippines," said Zack Zhangxiang, Device Group Head of Huawei Philippines. The 7-inch IPS LCD capacitive touch screen won’t disappoint either when it comes to offering clear photos, movies and applications. In addition, the MediaPad also supports Flash 10.3 videos and comes with preinstalled with applications like Facebook, Twitter, Let’s Golf and Documents to Go. The MediaPad is also endowed with HSPA+ 14.4 Mbps and high-speed WiFi 802.11n Internet connectivity for fast web connection and speed. For longer performance, the MediaPad offers over six hours of battery life. "So given the stylish design, the high performance and the ultra portable package, and plus the reasonable price I think this will be a hit model in the Philippines especially now that it’s Christmas season," said Al Dimapilis, Huwei Device Philippines Terminal Marketing Manager. Huwei began its operations in the Philippines in 2001, offering a diverse range of network devices which include handsets, mobile broadband devices, convergence devices, and video solutions. Dimapilis did not disclose the company’s target market share for the product, but noted that they are aiming for a huge part of the market. "In terms of market share, we want to eat a significant part of the market," Dimapilis said. The MediaPad will be perfect for the young social networkers "who are looking for a device that will make them connected to people in other places anytime, anywhere," Dimapilis added. Huawei officials did not announce the price of the MediaPad yet, but said that it will be retailed around P20, 000 to P21, 000. The MediaPad was recently launched in Hong Kong, with the Philippines being the second country only in Asia where the device has already been introduced, Dimapilis reported. As of 2010, Huawei Device’s products were available through more than 500 operators all over the world. Huawei has reportedly partnered with more than 470 operators in more than 130 countries.

C Spire Wireless, with the iPhone 4S coming, expands broadband coverage

Regional carrier C Spire Wireless is getting the word out on an expansion of its wireless broadband service to more than 1.3 million consumers and businesses. With plans to cover 238 cell sites in portions of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee by the end of the year — as part of its planned 4G LTE build out — and a promised investment of $90 million to boost network capacity and upgrade cell sites, today's announcement tacked $10 million more onto that promise, for improved coverage in 61 cities and 65 counties. “Wireless devices are only as good as the network on which they work, which is why we’re aggressively expanding our advanced mobile broadband coverage,” C Spire COO Kevin Hankins said in a statement. C Spire, formerly Cellular South, plans to launch its 4G network by the end of the year, with even voice-over-LTE at launch (CP: Cellular South launching LTE with Samsung). The operator has the perfect motivation to help its network get the most out of its devices. Last week, it announced that it's the first non-Tier 1 operator to be offered an Apple iPhone 4S. (CP: Apple moving the iPhone through regional operators, starting with C Spire.) Aside from saying the device will be available "in the coming weeks," and calling it "the most amazing iPhone yet," C Spire offered zero information on the deal, directing all questions to Apple. Expanding beyond the nation's Tier 1 operators is a natural move for Apple's continued growth, though not all of those top-ranking bases have been covered — T-Mobile, notably, is still left out of the game. On Friday, T-Mobile Senior Vice President of Marketing Andrew Sherrad released a statement, half calling out Apple on its neglect of T-Mobile — not unlike the way certain adults will embarrass a kid into behaving by singling him or her out — and half insisting that T-Mobile's Android 4G smartphones are just as good as the iPhone anyway. "The issue remains that Apple has not developed a version of the iPhone with technology that works on our fast 3G and 4G networks," said Sharrad. "We believe a capable version of the iPhone for our 3G and 4G networks would offer an additional compelling option for our customers on a fast 4G network." He added, "T-Mobile’s 4G smartphones stack up against competitive smartphones in terms of functionality, speed, features offered and overall experience — including the iPhone 4S. Reports continue of iPhones not operating well on some carrier networks, while our latest 4G smartphones offer many advantages versus the iPhone 4S." C Spire and Verizon use identical 3G CDMA EV-DO technology, making it an easy partner for Apple. Still, not a company to be bullied or coerced, it's perhaps little wonder that the closed-mouth C Spire has been called on to go next.

Alvarion® Highlights Growing Portfolio of Wireless Broadband Solutions at 4G World

Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ:ALVR), the world’s leading provider of 4G networks in the Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) market, is returning to 4G World 2011, October 24 - 27, at McCormick Place, Chicago, to unveil its latest 4G wireless broadband solutions, as well as present executive perspectives during keynotes and panel sessions. Alvarion’s presence at the show is titled “Going the Extra Mile” to reflect the company’s commitment to meeting its customers’ current and future needs. Alvarion will feature a keynote presentation on October 26th and Power Breakfast on October 25th. Alvarion’s Vice President, Innovation and Marketing, Dr. Mo Shakouri will also be speaking at the WCAI Spectrum Summit about “Spectrum for Smart Grid and Government Networks”. Alvarion executives will be hosting meetings at executive meeting room number 2807. In the executive meeting room, Alvarion will also be presenting a few of its recent portfolio enhancements, including the new BreezeCELL® TrueActive™ DAS solution for in-building capacity, the new BreezeCOMPACT micro base station, WALKair 5000 and the BreezeMAX® Extreme 1.8. “The keystone of our business has always been our commitment to meeting our customers’ network needs and we continue to grow and advance our offering in line with this principle,” said Eran Gorev, Alvarion’s President and CEO. “We offer a flexible, powerful line-up of wireless broadband solutions that are designed to support the growth of our customers in a variety of carrier and vertical markets. We are excited about the 4G World show in Chicago and looking forward to another invaluable industry encounter.” Show activities featuring Alvarion executives and customers include: Keynote/Featured Session: The Promise of Wireless Broadband Connectivity - From Smart City To Education To National Broadband - Wednesday, October 26 at 09:40 a.m. CT in South Building Grand Ballroom; Speaker: Eran Gorev, Alvarion’s President and CEO, and Alvarion customers: Brian Anderson, Senior Consultant and Program Director, City of Houston Wireless Broadband Initiative; Margarita Solís, Director of IJALTI (Technology Institution of Jalisco, Mexico) and Jeff Burlock, Senior Vice President Strategic Technology, Xplornet Communications Inc. If you are interested in meeting with Alvarion at the show, please contact John Conrad at conrad@merrittgrp.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Alvarion4G.

Vonage Launches Free Extensions(TM) Apps for iPhone® and Android(TM) Devices

Vonage VG -0.50% today announced the availability of a free downloadable app for iPhones that enables one-touch international dialing using the recently announced Extensions service. A free Extensions app for Android devices was launched in September. These new Vonage Extensions apps allow customers to extend Vonage's signature unlimited(1) international calling plans to their smartphones using an easy-to-use app, providing even greater convenience. The new apps let users dial international phone numbers directly through their existing contact list so there's no need for users to re-enter numbers or leave the app to make calls. The international calling apps are available for immediate download at the iTunes® App Store and Android Marketplace. "Extensions delivers unmatched value and flexibility, because it lets customers link more phones to their Vonage service, creating a virtual family plan. The addition of Extensions apps gives customers with iPhones and Android devices an even simpler, more convenient way to take advantage of our international service," said Michael Tempora, SVP of Product Management for Vonage. Customers can register for up to two mobile Extensions through their online accounts at www.vonage.com . For complete details on Extensions and new Extensions apps for iPhone and Android, visit www.vonage.com .

Ericsson puts up regional fiber network hub in PH

Ericsson has unveiled a Fiber Network Competence Center in the country to support its delivery of next generation broadband networks, particularly LTE and FTTH (fiber-to-the-home). The Fiber Network Competence Center is expected to deliver cost effective design, engineering, and project management services locally and across the Asia Pacific region, according to Ericsson. The Swedish tech giant said the competence center will also provide professional consulting services that include infrastructure assessments and network design optimization. “It will also support deployment across the region, using the latest techniques that reduce construction time, improve efficiency, and deliver the best return on investment,” the company added. The competence center is expected to employ some 300 professional services staff by the end of 2012.

Why Microsoft Would Be Smart To Buy InterDigital

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) might just be the most boring stock of all-time. Unless you are a billionaire who owns the stock for the measly 2.9% dividend they give and the low risk aspect of it, or you are the most conservative investor who has ever walked the planet, this stock has no pulse. Microsoft, for at least the past 10 years, has seemed content with what it is as a company. It figures everybody uses its Windows Office software and that is never going to change. However, if technology has taught us anything, it's that there will always be something that comes out better and cheaper at some point. Research In Motion (RIMM) could have used that advice a few years ago when it sat on its laurels and took for granted its consumer loyalty. Microsoft has at least started to show that it has some other ideas in mind by getting into the smartphone market and releasing the Windows Phone 7, which has had a somewhat lukewarm response. It hasn't been a complete disaster, however. This is where InterDigital (IDCC) comes into play. InterDigital, Inc. engages in the design and development of digital wireless technology solutions. The company offers technology solutions for use in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It holds patents related to the fundamental technologies that enable wireless communications. The company licenses its patents to equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular and IEEE 802-related products; and licenses or sells mobile broadband modem solutions, including modem IP, know-how, and reference platforms to mobile device manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and other equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular products. Currently IDCC is in a closed-bidding auction to sell the company to the highest bidder. This process has been ongoing since July 2011. Rumors have swirled for months as to what companies are bidding, bid amounts, whether or not there is a group bid as a consortium, and just about everything else in between. There have been reports that Apple (AAPL), Qualcomm (QCOM), Samsung (SSNLF.PK), and a host of others have been involved in the bidding. Most recently, it has been "rumored" that Intel (INTC) is now the leader to buy the company. At one time, Google (GOOG) was expected to be involved, but when they bought Motorola Mobility (MMI), most assumed that this took them out of the race. I'm not so sure about that. Google still has very weak patents and not enough of them, especially where 4G technology is concerned. This is what makes me believe Microsoft would be the perfect company to buy InterDigital. First of all, Microsoft has already lost lawsuits and eventually settled with VirnetX (VHC), another company who owns some important patents for instant messaging, voice over Internet protocol, smart phones, eReaders, and video conferencing. So, Microsoft has been on the losing end of patent lawsuit and infringement claims. Make no mistake, the patent wars going on with all of these companies aren't going away. The patents themselves can bring in billions for a company in the coming years. Whoever wins the InterDigital auction will be in a very good position to assert its power with these patents. Since Microsoft has already shown it is willing to enter the smartphone market, it can only be assumed that they will eventually have to enter other technology markets to stay relevant. Qualcomm has built its reputation off its patents. Microsoft can continue to do what it does with its software, but also hold some key patents, along with having another revenue stream. It makes too much sense. Microsoft has over $50 billion in cash on hand. It could easily buy InterDigital for $5 billion without any worries to its balance sheet. In fact, I would think investors would be happy to see Microsoft actually try to grow and venture out as a company as its stock has been trading in the same boring range for ages now. Microsoft buying InterDigital, Inc. would at least bring a some life to it.

City-based Elitecore to launch wireless router for landlines

Within a month of unveiling its first all-inclusive wireless router, Cyberoam, a division of Ahmedabad-based Elitecore Technologies is set to launch the next version of 'NetGenie'. The new Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) variant of the router will be meant for customers using broadband network through landline phones. “The ADSL modem version of NetGenie is targeted at customers using broadband service through landline phones. There are large numbers of customers who use wired broadband services through landline phones. With this product, we expect our market share to increase sharply,” said Abhilash Sonwane, senior VP, product management, Elitecore Technologies. According to Sonwane, the ADSL modems provided by Internet service providers (ISPs) are not secured. “Earlier we had launched a wireless router. However, the new variant can be plugged into a computer through an landline phone wire for broadband services as well as provide an all-inclusive PC and Internet security solutions. We expect our business to increase by 30 per cent through this product," he added. Having launched the NetGenie wireless router, an all-inclusive security solutions product, Elitecore Technologies is eyeing a $4 million (Rs 20 crore approx.) business by the end of the current fiscal. Recently, the company launched the product in two variants, namely NetGenie Home and NetGenie SOHO (small office home office). "NetGenie is a pioneering solution for families and small office users that aims to enable safe Internet usage, usher in productivity and offer advanced threat protection. Parents are increasingly being concerned about kids having unfiltered access to unsafe Internet content, befriending strangers online, unlimited social networking, chat and online gaming sessions. Keeping all this in mind and the current threat landscape, Cyberoam wanted to offer our consumers a permanent and easy solution for all their cyber worries," said Hemal Patel, CEO, Elitecore Technologies.According to Sonwane, the company is looking to sell 15,000 units and garner a revenue of $ 4 million (Rs 20 crore approx.) by the end of the fiscal. "In four years, we are looking at a market share of 25 per cent.Currently, the WiFi router market is around Rs 9,000 crore and will grow to Rs 10,644 crore by 2014," he added. The NetGenie ensures that it empowers both home and small office users to decide how much internet freedom they want to give to different users in their network across an entire range of devices such as desktops, laptops, smartphones, iPad etc. The NetGenie also allows schedule-based Internet access over various website categories and applications for different users.

NTC to ask PLDT to make Sun 'unli' promo permanent

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) may require telecommunications leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) to make Sun Cellular’s unlimited text and call promos a permanent offering as a condition for the NTC’s approval of PLDT’s acquisition of a 51.55% stake in Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel). Highly placed sources told The STAR that under the Public Services Act, any sale or transfer of shares of stocks by a public utility that will result in the transferee owning more than 40 percent must not prejudice public interest. “To make sure that Digitel’s sale to PLDT will not prejudice public interest, and despite the fact that PLDT has already said that Sun Cellular’s unli text and call promos will remain, the NTC will ask PLDT to make these promos, which currently are available for a limited period, permanent,” the source said. Digitel is the 100% owner of Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., which owns the brand Sun Cellular. It also has a substantial fixed line and broadband business. In addition, PLDT and NTC are in discussions over a possible divestment by PLDT of the 3G frequencies held by its subsidiary Connectivity Unlimited Resourced Enterprise (CURE). The NTC is expected to finally decide by next week on a joint PLDT-Digitel application seeking approval of the sale. The commission has 90 days or until October 26, 2011 or from the time the last pleading was filed to come up with a decision, although NTC said that the period is not mandatory. NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba told reporters late last week that all the inputs needed in deciding on the controversial deal are already with the government, thus, giving it sufficient footing on the issue. “All inputs that we need are already in. So, we already can [decide],” he said, but added that there is still no schedule on when an approval or denial will be issued on the PLDT-Digitel deal. Cordoba said the 90-day period is just a “reasonable length of time” that will “guide” the regulators to evaluate the transaction and its effect on the telecommunications industry. Thus, he said the regulator cannot be forced to either deny or approve the P69-billion deal at the end of the 90-day period. According to Cordoba, an ideal telecom industry should have several players in order to protect the welfare of consumers. “The more providers to choose from, the better for the public. If there are several players in the market, prices will go down and services will further improve because of competition,” he said. Currently, there are only three cellular providers in the local telecoms industry that include PLDT’s wireless arm Smart Communications, Digitel’s Sun Cellular and Globe Telecom. The acquisition of Digitel by PLDT in the latter cornering over 70 percent of cellular subscribers. PLDT, however, said Digitel will be managed separately from PLDT and will retain its branding even after the acquisition. PLDT said it is cognizant though of the concerns raised by government and certain oppositors regarding the group’s ownership of 3G frequency. “We would like to assure all the parties that it is not PLDT’s intention to accummulate the said frequency. Thus, in order to pave the way for the issuance of the NTC approval and completion of the acquisition transaction given the substantial public benefit it will create, PLDT is in discussions with NTC regarding the possibility of divesting frequency held by CURE,” it revealed. Even with this, PLDT maintained that there is no legal basis for government to recall any radio frequency held by the group. “All radio frequencies held by the PLDT group are being properly, effectively, and efficiently used by the groyp to meet the demands of public service and all fees due on the assignment and use of such frequencies have been properly paid in a timely manner,” company officials said. PLDT said it firmly believes that the acquisition transaction will be beneficial to the public good and public service and that issue raised by government, the NTC, and certain oppositors regarding radio frequency should not be an obstacle to the NTC’s approval thereof. The PLDT group has 25 mhz of 3G frequencies, 15 mhz of which is held by Smart and 10 mhz by CURE. The original closing date of the acquisition deal, originally targeted for June 30 was twice extended - to July 30 and then to August 26 due to prolonged disposition of the application for approval by the NTC. PLDT and Digitel filed their joint application for the approval of the sale to the former of an initial 51.55 percent of the outstanding shares of Digitel from the Gokongwei group last April 27. “What should have been a straightforward summary proceeding turned into a protracted proceeding as Globe and other oppositors raised extraneous matters, including a grant of additional frequency assignments to Globe as well as IP peering, and even sought for the suspension of the proceeding and disapproval of the transaction, arguing that PLDT’s foreign ownership exceeds the constitutional limit on the basis of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Gamboa casem which has not even attained finality,” PLDT pointed out. PLDT has already obtained the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) confirmation of the valuation of the said Digitel shares, and convertible bonds and advances which PLDT will acquire in consideration of new shares of common stock to be issued by PLDT.

Huawei offers a glimpse of MediaPad

The MediaPad provides a fabulous user-experience in a stylish, high-performing and ultra-portable package. The MediaPad is Huawei Device’s smartest, slimmest and lightest tablet yet, measuring just 10.5 mm (0.4 inch) deep and weighing approximately 390 grams (0.86 pound). It supports 1080P full HD video playback and features a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and five-megapixel auto focus rear-facing camera with HD video recording capabilities. With HSPA+ 14.4Mbps and high-speed Wi-Fi 802.11n Internet connectivity, the MediaPad doesn’t just entertain — it also keeps you connected in an instant. “With the Huawei MediaPad, we are demonstrating yet again that design, functionality and performance are within anyone’s reach. The seven-inch tablet remains the preferred size for portability, and Android Honeycomb 3.2 is dedicated to enhance the full potential of seven-inch tablets. Huawei is very pleased to be the first to offer this package to consumers globally and most especially here in the Philippines,” said Zack Zhangxiang, Device Group head of Huawei Philippines. “The MediaPad opens up new worlds of entertainment for consumers by removing the barriers to tablet ownership, enabling access to a truly high-quality mobile entertainment experience,” added Zhangxiang. An out-of-this-world entertainment experience The MediaPad supports HSPA+ data services, Flash 10.3 videos and comes pre-installed with applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Let’s Golf and Documents to Go. With the seven-inch IPS touch screen, the MediaPad offers a standout visual experience for photos, movies and applications. Entertainment and gaming experience are taken to the next level with its 1.2GHz dual-core processor, HD playback and HDMI port. With MediaPad, Huawei Device aims to reach a significant number of its target market, the Young Social Networkers (YSNs). Emerald Dimapilis, terminal marketing manager of Huawei Device Philippines, said, “YSNs are all around us. Wherever you are in the world — whether in a bar in New York, a coffee shop in Makati, a beach in Palawan, or a busy shopping street in London — you will find groups of YSNs. Progressiveness is the defining characteristic of this group.” ‘The MediaPad opens up new worlds of entertainment for consumers,’ says Zack Zhangxiang, Device Group head of Huawei Philippines. Expansion of Huawei Device’s smart offerings The MediaPad builds on the global success of the IDEOS S7 Slim tablet and cements Huawei Device’s ability to cater to the explosive demand for tablets. According to the International Data Corp., sales in the tablet market are expected to increase more than fourfold in the next two years. Along with Huawei’s latest range of smart devices, the MediaPad is a prime example of Huawei Device’s focus on the power of practical innovation. Huawei currently serves 45 of the world’s top 50 telecom operators. Huawei Device has achieved success in the operator resale market, and is a leading vendor in mobile broadband and convergence device field. The company provides a diverse range of network devices, including handsets, mobile broadband devices, convergence devices, and video solutions. It has partnered with more than 470 operators in more than 130 countries.

Smart installs over 1,200 HSPA+ sites

The year 2011 is turning out to be the breakthrough year for the development of broadband services in the country. Last week, Smart Communications Inc. announced it has fired up over 1,200 Evolved High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) base stations, thus making much more available high-speed mobile broadband in more parts of the country. “Combined with other technology platforms, HSPA+ will play a big role in achieving our goal of extending broadband coverage to 95 percent of the Philippine population in the next three years,” said Rolando Peña, head of the Technology Group of Smart and its parent firm, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). 3G on steroids HSPA+ is an upgraded version of the High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology. Based on standards set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), HSPA+ is the fastest form of 3G, currently capable of delivering speeds of up to 42Mbps to mobile broadband users. Smart has been conducting tests on HSPA+ since 2009. “At this early stage, Smart has already rolled out the most extensive and robust high-speed mobile broadband network in the country,” said Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea. “Last month, we had about 500 HSPA+ base stations. It has taken us just a month to more than double that count. That shows how serious we are when we said we are transforming our network to further improve the quality of our service and meet the demand for new Internet-based services,” Vea said. PLDT and Smart are currently implementing a P67.1-billion network transformation program designed to support the rapidly growing demand for broadband internet services in both fixed and mobile networks. Less expense, more savings On the mobile side, Smart set off this network transformation process with the conversion of its existing 2G and 3G base stations to the Single Radio Access Network (RAN) system. With Single RAN, a base station can handle all types of cellular standards, allowing an operator such as Smart to quickly shift to new technologies just by upgrading the software in what is called a Base Station Controller. “Our shift to Single RAN allows us to future-proof our base stations, and gives us the flexibility to rapidly upgrade them to the latest standards. Even as 3G evolved into HSPA, then into HSPA+, and even on to Long-Term Evolution (LTE), we do not need to have multiple base stations for each these cellular standards,” Peña said. Fiber to the home On the fixed line side, PLDT has begun introducing fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services in selected areas of Metro Manila. FTTH will make possible high-speed services such as video-streaming in high-definition quality. This will transform broadband usage at home to include entertainment services such as video-on-demand and live viewing of Web-based entertainment content and services. The fiber optic edge Connecting these access technologies on both the fixed and mobile side is the extensive transport grid — or the system of “highways” through which voice, SMS, and data go through — of both PLDT and Smart. To date, Smart and PLDT have over 42,000 kilometers of looped FOCs, fully covering mainland Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. By end-2011, the combined PLDT-Smart network is expected to exceed 45,000 kilometers of fiber optic cabling throughout the Philippines. “To offer high-speed access services, we need to support this with a robust, resilient transmission network,” said Peña. “Smart’s backbone infrastructure ensures that services will continue operating at the highest level even if some facilities have been damaged and suffer downtime.” Moving to 4G Smart’s HSPA+ rollout is complement by its preparations for the commercial deployment of LTE, often referred to as the fourth-generation of mobile phone technology or 4G. Earlier this year, Smart fired up its LTE network on Boracay Island, where speeds hit 50 to 70Mbps, or roughly 35 times faster than that of the current 3G standard. Much earlier, Smart had announced plans to expand its WiMAX deployment to 800 more sites, as part of efforts to enhance its fixed wireless broadband service, particularly in the provinces. Since WiMAX covers a wider distance and serves more users at any given time while allowing high-speed data access, it can reach “blackout areas” that currently have no broadband Internet access — enabling Internet penetration even to the most remote barrios and barangays. “We have clearly built the most advanced network in the country. To Smart, all this translates to an enhanced communication experience and mobile lifestyle for our subscribers,” said Vea. Smart connects more than 47.8 million mobile subscribers and close to 1.5 million broadband subscribers that enjoy the most affordable and reliable wireless services. Among Smart’s newest products is the Netphone — a line of Android devices pumped full of Smart’s proprietary services that, together, offer the best mobile Internet experience at low price points. Another new product is the Smart Bro Rocket WiFi, the country’s fastest HSPA+ pocket modem and router in one.