CommsXpress

Telstra’s Destructive Stalemate

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:42:09 +0000

Business Spectator
Telstra’s update on its negotiations with NBN Co today confirms what was increasingly suspected and points to a destructive stalemate unless the framework for the negotiations is restructured. As discussed earlier this week, Telstra and NBN Co are poles apart on the value of the compensation and incentives NBN Co is prepared to pay and Telstra is prepared to accept for cooperating with the building of the national broadband network.

Topics: Australia, broadband, government, ISP, NBN, telecom, Telstra

Sabah, Sarawak Not Marginalised In Broadband Iniative

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:37:10 +0000

Bernama
Sabah and Sarawak will not be marginalised in the National Broadband Initiative (NBI), which will be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Wednesday. Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ramli said although high-speed broadband would be implemented in high-impact areas, broadband would be extended to rural areas under the people’s broadband category.

Topics: Singapore, broadband, Malaysia, MCMC, telecom

Feds Arrive at $2,500 to Connect Fibre to New Homes

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:32:41 +0000

CRN Australia
Developers should expect to pay some $2,500 on average to connect a new home with fibre for the National Broadband Network, and between $400,000 to $700,000 for backhaul connections, the Federal Government revealed today.

Topics: Australia, broadband, carrier, government, legislation, NBN, networking, telecom, United States, wireless

New Copper Lines All But Banned Under Government Legislation

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:24:56 +0000

ARNnet
The Federal Government has introduced legislation to ban the installation of fixed-line copper from every new house built in greenfield estates in an effort to push fibre connectivity.

Topics: Australia, government, legislation, NBN, telecom, Telstra, United States

Emergency Internet Control Bill Gets Rewrite

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:23:37 +0000

CNET
Sen. Jay Rockefeller alarmed technology and telecommunications firms last year when he announced a plan for the president to seize “emergency” control of the Internet. Now the West Virginia Democrat is trying again with a new version that aides hope will be seen as less extreme.

Topics: telecommunications, telecom, satellite, dark fiber

Google-Backed Undersea Cable Almost Complete

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:10:50 +0000

WebProNews
An undersea cable that Google helped finance is almost finished, according to a new report. Indeed, the completion of the Unity fiber optic cable, which will connect the U.S. to Japan, is supposed to be announced next week, and then Google and the company’s Asia-based users should start seeing the benefits soon after.

Topics: fiber optic, undersea cable, telecom, Google, telecommunications

Ohio Loosens Up Wireline Regulations

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:57:33 +0000

FierceTelecom
Soon wireline operators might have an easier time operating in Ohio as the Ohio House of Representatives approved a bill that will ease up regulations on traditional wireline service providers.

Topics: Ohio, regulation, telecom, telephone

EchoStar and Satmex Cancel Deal

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:02:56 +0000

TMCnet News
EchoStar Satellite Services, L.L.C. and MVS Comunicaciones have withdrawn the proposed acquisition of Satelites Mexicanos S.A. de C. V. (Satmex), a provider of satellite services, after the Satmex’s bondholders objected to the deal.

Topics: telecom, United States, SatMex, broadband, EchoStar, satellite

Sides Line Up As FCC Looks To Re-Allocate Valuable Spectrum

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:57:29 +0000

A crucial side-battle in this week’s release of the National Broadband Plan – and likely a long, drawn out one at that – is the tussle over whether existing spectrum currently allocated to TV broadcasters should be dedicated to broadband services.

Topics: spectrum, 3G, government, wireless, broadband, 4G, FCC

Orascom Telecom Bangladesh Said to Sell $102 Million of Bonds

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:51:50 +0000

BusinessWeek
Orascom Telecom Bangladesh, a unit of Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, sold the equivalent of $102 million in 13.5 percent bonds due 2014, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Topics: Middle East News, Middle East, telecom, Egypt, Orascom

Intelsat, Turksat Sign Satellite Capacity Deal For Middle East

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:46:41 +0000

TMCnet News
Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, today announced an agreement with Turksat A.S., the leading satellite operator in Turkey, which will result in enhanced satellite capacity serving the Middle East region.

Topics: satellite, broadband, telecom, United States, cellular, Intelsat

Orascom Loses $46.4 Million

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:43:01 +0000

Reuters South Africa
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom posted a fourth quarter net loss of $46.4 million, the company said Monday, citing rioting and hostility in Algeria, one of its main markets, for the sharp decline.

Topics: Cairo, Middle East, cellular, Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Middle East News, telecom, Orascom

SpaceCom Buys Capacity on Intelsat 902 Satellite

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:38:24 +0000

TMCnet News
SpaceCom International has signed a contract for capacity on the Intelsat 902 satellite, operated by Intelsat, increasing SpaceCom’s inventory of more than 400MHz combined C-Band and Ku-Band capacity.

Topics: GSM, satellite, United States, Ku-band, voip, Intelsat, cellular, telecom

Regulator Says VoIP Restricted To “Local Firms” In UAE

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:36:53 +0000

Arab News
The telecoms regulator in the United Arab Emirates said that international companies will not be given licenses yet for VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

Topics: Middle East, VoIP, India, Skype, UAE, telecoms, Middle East News, telecom

Global Mobile to Launch VoIP in 2H10

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:35:52 +0000

WiMAX operator Global Mobile has announced that it plans to launch voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony across its network in the second half of 2010, Digitimes reports. Will extend its WiMAX coverage to up to 90% of Taipei City and 70% of Taipei County by year-end.

Topics: VoIP, Satio, Global Mobile, WiMax, telecom

Will Comcast Get to 100 Mb/s to the Home Fastest?

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:17:09 +0000

With all the talk of broadband this week, the timing is fishy for Comcast to start talking about how it believes it will be able to double the households it reaches with 100 Mb/s Internet service this year. The bump up in speed comes as the MSO continues to roll out DOCSIS 3.0-compatible gear across its network and will ultimately result in a new, high-bandwidth service tier, the company said

Topics: FiOS, cable modem, Comcast, DOCSIS, Verizon, broadband, Federal Communications Commission, FCC

Telstra Sets LTE Trial For May Launch

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:17:04 +0000

Australian carrier Telstra will conduct trials of LTE in May after signing Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei to deliver kit for the project. Telstra said it will spend the next three to six months testing the feasibility and technical capability of LTE for future commercialization under the banner of its Next G strategy. The trial will be located in Victoria.

Topics: Australia, Telstra, Nokia, telecom, telecoms, 3G, spectrum, carrier

Palm Loses $22 Million

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:02:40 +0000

Palm (NSDQ: PALM)’s took another pounding in its third-quarter earnings because consumers continue to turn away from webOS devices. The company reported a $22 million loss on revenues of about $366 million.

Topics: smartphone, WebOS, Palm, Palm Pre, handset, wireless

T-Mobile Considering Deal with Clearwire

editor — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:01:32 +0000

According to Reuters, T-Mobile USA is looking at different ways to boost its spectrum capacity. As part of that goal, the company is considering forming a joint venture with one or more other companies.

Topics: T-Mobile, USA, spectrum, Clearwire

Gizmo Phone Numbers Restored by Google

editor — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:46:27 +0000

Thanks to Craig Walker and his team at GoogleVoice, the case of the missing Gizmo In numbers has been solved. It seems that a script error caused the numbers to go dark, and not appear. That problem has been resolved and the numbers are now back in their rightful place. With the users.

Topics: Google, VoIP