Published: Friday May 6, 2011 MYT 10:03:00 AM
Updated: Friday May 6, 2011 MYT 10:06:28 AM
PUBLIC DISPUTE: Mobile Internet devices of Huawei Technologies Ltd (right) and ZTE Corp for sale at a computer mall in Beijing. China's biggest technology companies have launched a court battle in Europe over mobile phone patents in a rare public clash between firms Beijing is promoting as national champions. It is the first case of its kind between major Chinese companies, which usually settle disputes in private. - AP
BEIJING: Two of China's biggest technology companies have launched a court battle in Europe over mobile phone patents in a rare public clash between firms Beijing is promoting as national champions.
The fight between Huawei Technologies Ltd and ZTE Corp highlights the challenge for communist leaders who need to manage Chinese corporate ambitions as they try to create global competitors in telecoms, energy and other fields.
It is the first case of its kind between major Chinese companies, which usually settle disputes in private.
"We're going to see more of this in this industry and others," said David Wolf, a technology marketing consultant in Beijing. "The government will find, wow, we've got these national champions, but now they're trying to kill each other."
The dispute centres on fourth-generation mobile technology, which companies that are developing it say will deliver more stable connections, wireless broadband and other advances. It is in limited use in the United States and being tested elsewhere.
Control of key patents could help decide which equipment suppliers are positioned to reap billions of dollars in sales once it is rolled out in other markets.
Huawei and ZTE make network gear, the core of phone systems. They have multibillion-dollar annual sales in China, Africa and Latin America and see themselves as potential global 4G leaders. That fits with Communist Party hopes to transform China from a low-cost factory into a creator of profitable technology.
Huawei has filed patent infringement lawsuits against ZTE in France, Germany and Hungary. ZTE rejected the claims and said it has asked a French court and Chinese regulators to invalidate a Huawei patent.
Huawei and ZTE are among China's first wave of fledgling multinational companies. They compete with Nokia-Siemens Networks, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent and have a small but growing US and European presence.
Their dispute comes amid mounting complaints by foreign business groups about Beijing's industrial policy. They say China is improperly supporting favoured companies by limiting market access and providing low-cost loans and other support.
Huawei's lawsuits accuse ZTE of infringing patents for data cards and improperly using a Huawei-registered trademark on some of its products.
"We will do whatever is required to ensure that the use of Huawei's intellectual property by any company is based on internationally accepted protocols and practices," said Huawei's chief legal officer, Song Liuping, in a statement.
ZTE said its lawsuit accused Huawei of infringing its 4G patents. The company said it also has asked a French court and China's State Intellectual Property Office to invalidate Huawei's patents for a rotary USB connector used to exchange data between devices.
"ZTE respects the intellectual property rights of other companies, but it will not stop protecting its own intellectual property rights," said a company statement.
Huawei, founded in 1987 by a former Chinese military engineer, has 110,000 employees and reported 2010 revenues of 182bil yuan (RM84bil).
ZTE, founded in 1985, has 70,000 workers and reported 2010 revenues of 70bil yuan (RM32bil).
Their status as industry leaders gives both high-level political influence. But Chinese leaders want both to succeed - a possible reason for a stalemate and the decision to go to court.
An impartial ruling by a European court also might add to the winner's appeal for potential customers by reinforcing its status as a technology creator, rather than a Chinese policy tool.
"They are making an interesting statement by filing those lawsuits not in Chinese courts but overseas, because Chinese courts are perceived to be very political, and they want this matter obviously adjudicated on the legal merits," said Wolf, CEO of Wolf Group Asia.
Huawei and ZTE are unusual among major Chinese companies because they compete directly with each other, offering similar products in the same markets.
Authorities who want China's potential global companies to focus their competitive energies on foreign rivals have tried to head off clashes in other industries by assigning different markets or products to individual enterprises.
Huawei has suffered setbacks as it tries to expand in the United States. It was forced in February to unwind its acquisition of 3Leaf Systems, a maker of cloud-computing technology, after it failed to win approval from a US security panel.
In a separate case, Huawei won a court order that temporarily blocked the sale of Motorola Solutions Inc's network business to rival Nokia-Siemens Networks.
Huawei said the deal might reveal business secrets because Motorola sold Huawei equipment. Motorola settled with Huawei for an undisclosed fee.
Also this month, Ericsson said it has filed lawsuits against ZTE in Britain, Germany and Italy accusing the company of infringing patents for handset and network technology.
The Swedish company asked the courts to block ZTE from selling mobile phones that contain the disputed technology and some network products. - AP
http://techcentral.my/news/story.aspx?file=/2011/5/6/it_news/20110506101236&sec=it_news
Showing posts with label International. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International. Show all posts
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Telstra aims to conclude network talks this month
Tuesday May 3, 2011
MELBOURNE: Telstra Corp, Australia's biggest phone company, is looking to conclude long-delayed talks with the government by the end of May to hand over its copper network to the National Broadband Network for A$11bil (US$12.07bil), a newspaper reported yesterday.
The government is believed to want an announcement as soon as possible after the May 10 federal budget, while an industry source pointed to May 23 as a more likely date, the Australian Financial Review said.
NBN Co and Telstra were in the final stages of negotiation,' NBN chief executive Mike Quigley said on Friday.
Uncertainty over the final agreement has dogged Telstra's share price, and Telstra shareholders are eager for the deal to be signed so they can see the details surrounding how the company will be compensated, ahead of voting on the deal.
Telstra shares closed on Friday at A$2.91, not far off a record low of A$2.55 hit about six months ago. - Reuters
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=business&file=/2011/5/3/business/8594105
MELBOURNE: Telstra Corp, Australia's biggest phone company, is looking to conclude long-delayed talks with the government by the end of May to hand over its copper network to the National Broadband Network for A$11bil (US$12.07bil), a newspaper reported yesterday.
The government is believed to want an announcement as soon as possible after the May 10 federal budget, while an industry source pointed to May 23 as a more likely date, the Australian Financial Review said.
NBN Co and Telstra were in the final stages of negotiation,' NBN chief executive Mike Quigley said on Friday.
Uncertainty over the final agreement has dogged Telstra's share price, and Telstra shareholders are eager for the deal to be signed so they can see the details surrounding how the company will be compensated, ahead of voting on the deal.
Telstra shares closed on Friday at A$2.91, not far off a record low of A$2.55 hit about six months ago. - Reuters
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=business&file=/2011/5/3/business/8594105
Deutsche Telekom net off 37% to US$696mil
ublished: Friday May 6, 2011 MYT 3:14:00 PM
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG says net profits fell 37 percent in the first quarter as it lost mobile phone customers in the U.S. and its business suffered in crisis-stricken Greece.
Friday's earnings show net profit of 480 million ($696 million), down from 767 million a year ago. Revenue was down 7 percent to 14.597.
The company said its business remained relatively strong in its home country, Germany. But it faced a variety of difficulties elsewhere. Those include an ongoing struggle against bigger competitors in the United States; slow economies in Greece and Romania; a new tax in Hungary, and expensive efforts to attract and keep customers in Netherland and Poland.
The company saw its customer base and revenue slip at T-Mobile USA, which is in the process of selling to AT&T for $39 billion. A high churn rate among contract customers of 2.4 percent was a weak point, only partly offset by growth in prepaid customers.
As a result, the overall customer base in the U.S. declined by 99,000 during the quarter to 33.6 million. "Notwithstanding the announced sale of T-Mobile USA, the company will continue to pursue its strategy as an aggressive competitor on the market until the transaction has been closed," the company said in a statement.
The sale to AT&T would reduce the number of mobile phone companies with national coverage from four to three, and must pass scrutiny from anti-trust regulators. The Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission could take a year or longer to review the proposed transaction.
Deutsche Telekom earnings were also reduced because the company also no longer includes earnings from T-Mobile UK, now part of a joint venture with France Telecom's Orange. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/6/business/20110506152447&sec=business
FRANKFURT, Germany: Germany telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG says net profits fell 37 percent in the first quarter as it lost mobile phone customers in the U.S. and its business suffered in crisis-stricken Greece.
Friday's earnings show net profit of 480 million ($696 million), down from 767 million a year ago. Revenue was down 7 percent to 14.597.
The company said its business remained relatively strong in its home country, Germany. But it faced a variety of difficulties elsewhere. Those include an ongoing struggle against bigger competitors in the United States; slow economies in Greece and Romania; a new tax in Hungary, and expensive efforts to attract and keep customers in Netherland and Poland.
The company saw its customer base and revenue slip at T-Mobile USA, which is in the process of selling to AT&T for $39 billion. A high churn rate among contract customers of 2.4 percent was a weak point, only partly offset by growth in prepaid customers.
As a result, the overall customer base in the U.S. declined by 99,000 during the quarter to 33.6 million. "Notwithstanding the announced sale of T-Mobile USA, the company will continue to pursue its strategy as an aggressive competitor on the market until the transaction has been closed," the company said in a statement.
The sale to AT&T would reduce the number of mobile phone companies with national coverage from four to three, and must pass scrutiny from anti-trust regulators. The Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission could take a year or longer to review the proposed transaction.
Deutsche Telekom earnings were also reduced because the company also no longer includes earnings from T-Mobile UK, now part of a joint venture with France Telecom's Orange. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/6/business/20110506152447&sec=business
Friday, April 22, 2011
Apple Accused of Secretly Collecting Data from iPhone, iPad Users
Published: Friday April 22, 2011 MYT 7:25:00 AM
Updated: Friday April 22, 2011 MYT 7:27:13 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: Privacy watchdogs are demanding answers from Apple Inc. about why iPhones and iPads are secretly collecting location data on users - records that cellular service providers routinely keep but require a court order to disgorge.
It's not clear if other smartphones and tablet computers are logging such information on their users.
And this week's revelation that the Apple devices do wasn't even new - some security experts began warning about the issue a year ago.
But the worry prompted by a report from researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden at a technology conference in Santa Clara, California, raises questions about how much privacy you implicitly surrender by carrying around a smartphone and the responsibility of the smartphone makers to protect sensitive data that flows through their devices.
Much of the concern about the iPhone and iPad tracking stems from the fact the computers are logging users' physical coordinates without users knowing it - and that that information is then stored in an unencrypted form that would be easy for a hacker or a suspicious spouse or a law enforcement officer to find without a warrant.
Researchers emphasize that there's no evidence that Apple itself has access to this data. The data apparently stays on the device itself, and computers the data is backed up to. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.
Tracking is a normal part of owning a cellphone. What's done with that data, though, is where the controversy lies.
A central question in this controversy is whether a smartphone should act merely as a conduit of location data to service providers and approved applications - or as a more active participant by storing the data itself, to make location-based applications run more smoothly or help better target mobile ads or any number of other uses.
Location data is some of the most valuable information a mobile phone can provide, since it can tell advertisers not only where someone's been, but also where they might be going - and what they might be inclined to buy when they get there.
Allan and Warden said the location coordinates and time stamps in the Apple devices aren't always exact, but appear in a file that typically contains about a year's worth of data that when taken together provide a detailed view of users' travels.
"We're not sure why Apple is gathering this data, but it's clearly intentional, as the database is being restored across backups, and even device migrations," they wrote in a blog posting announcing the research.
Allan said in an email to the AP that he and Warden haven't looked at how other smartphones behave in this regard, but added there's suspicion that phones that run Google Inc.'s Android software might behave in a similar way and is being investigated.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alex Levinson, a security expert, said the tracking Apple's devices do isn't new - or a surprise to those in the computer forensics community.
The Apple devices have been retaining the information for some time, but it was kept in a different form until the release of the iOS 4 operating software last year, Levinson, technical lead for the Katana Forensics firm, wrote on his blog.
Through his work with law enforcement agencies, Levinson said he was able to access the location data in older iPhones and warned about the issue over a year ago. The location data is now easier to find because of a change in the way iPhone applications access the data, he said.
"Either way, it is not secret, malicious, or hidden," Levinson wrote. "Users still have to approve location access to any application and have the ability to instantly turn off location services to applications inside the settings menu on their device."
The existence of the location-data file on the phone is alarming because it's unencrypted, the researchers said, which means that anyone with access to the device can see it.
Charlie Miller, a prominent iPhone hacker, said a security change that Apple made last month would make extracting the file from the phone in a remote attack very difficult. Even if an attacker were to break into someone's phone looking for the file, he wouldn't have the right privileges to access the file.
The data is "pretty well-protected on the phone," Miller, principal security analyst with Independent Security Evaluators, said in an interview.
"On the phone, they take a lot of precautions." He said. "It's sort of frightening in the sense that it's there, and it's full of information about where you've been, but the good news is it's not easy to get to."
But it's a different matter when the data is transferred to another computer in a backup. If the backup computer is infected with malicious software, the file could easily be located and sent to the hacker. A way to protect against that is to encrypt the iPhone backup through iTunes, the researchers said.
The issue has prompted several members of Congress to write letters to Apple, based in Cupertino, California, to ask questions about the practice.
Sen. Al Franken said it raises "serious privacy concerns," especially for children using the devices, since "anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of a user's home, the businesses he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attend, and the trips he has taken - over the past months or even a year."
Rep. Edward Markey questioned whether the practice may be illegal under a federal law governing the use of location information for commercial purposes, if consumers weren't properly informed.
"Apple needs to safeguard the personal location information of its users to ensure that an iPhone doesn't become an iTrack," he said in a statement. "Collecting, storing and disclosing a consumer's location for commercial purposes without their express permission is unacceptable and would violate current law."
Apple shares rose $9.20, or 2.7 percent, to $351.71 on the strength of the company's latest quarterly financial results, which showed Apple's net income nearly doubled, in large part on strength of iPhone sales. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/22/business/20110422073307&sec=business
Updated: Friday April 22, 2011 MYT 7:27:13 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: Privacy watchdogs are demanding answers from Apple Inc. about why iPhones and iPads are secretly collecting location data on users - records that cellular service providers routinely keep but require a court order to disgorge.
It's not clear if other smartphones and tablet computers are logging such information on their users.
And this week's revelation that the Apple devices do wasn't even new - some security experts began warning about the issue a year ago.
But the worry prompted by a report from researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden at a technology conference in Santa Clara, California, raises questions about how much privacy you implicitly surrender by carrying around a smartphone and the responsibility of the smartphone makers to protect sensitive data that flows through their devices.
Much of the concern about the iPhone and iPad tracking stems from the fact the computers are logging users' physical coordinates without users knowing it - and that that information is then stored in an unencrypted form that would be easy for a hacker or a suspicious spouse or a law enforcement officer to find without a warrant.
Researchers emphasize that there's no evidence that Apple itself has access to this data. The data apparently stays on the device itself, and computers the data is backed up to. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.
Tracking is a normal part of owning a cellphone. What's done with that data, though, is where the controversy lies.
A central question in this controversy is whether a smartphone should act merely as a conduit of location data to service providers and approved applications - or as a more active participant by storing the data itself, to make location-based applications run more smoothly or help better target mobile ads or any number of other uses.
Location data is some of the most valuable information a mobile phone can provide, since it can tell advertisers not only where someone's been, but also where they might be going - and what they might be inclined to buy when they get there.
Allan and Warden said the location coordinates and time stamps in the Apple devices aren't always exact, but appear in a file that typically contains about a year's worth of data that when taken together provide a detailed view of users' travels.
"We're not sure why Apple is gathering this data, but it's clearly intentional, as the database is being restored across backups, and even device migrations," they wrote in a blog posting announcing the research.
Allan said in an email to the AP that he and Warden haven't looked at how other smartphones behave in this regard, but added there's suspicion that phones that run Google Inc.'s Android software might behave in a similar way and is being investigated.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alex Levinson, a security expert, said the tracking Apple's devices do isn't new - or a surprise to those in the computer forensics community.
The Apple devices have been retaining the information for some time, but it was kept in a different form until the release of the iOS 4 operating software last year, Levinson, technical lead for the Katana Forensics firm, wrote on his blog.
Through his work with law enforcement agencies, Levinson said he was able to access the location data in older iPhones and warned about the issue over a year ago. The location data is now easier to find because of a change in the way iPhone applications access the data, he said.
"Either way, it is not secret, malicious, or hidden," Levinson wrote. "Users still have to approve location access to any application and have the ability to instantly turn off location services to applications inside the settings menu on their device."
The existence of the location-data file on the phone is alarming because it's unencrypted, the researchers said, which means that anyone with access to the device can see it.
Charlie Miller, a prominent iPhone hacker, said a security change that Apple made last month would make extracting the file from the phone in a remote attack very difficult. Even if an attacker were to break into someone's phone looking for the file, he wouldn't have the right privileges to access the file.
The data is "pretty well-protected on the phone," Miller, principal security analyst with Independent Security Evaluators, said in an interview.
"On the phone, they take a lot of precautions." He said. "It's sort of frightening in the sense that it's there, and it's full of information about where you've been, but the good news is it's not easy to get to."
But it's a different matter when the data is transferred to another computer in a backup. If the backup computer is infected with malicious software, the file could easily be located and sent to the hacker. A way to protect against that is to encrypt the iPhone backup through iTunes, the researchers said.
The issue has prompted several members of Congress to write letters to Apple, based in Cupertino, California, to ask questions about the practice.
Sen. Al Franken said it raises "serious privacy concerns," especially for children using the devices, since "anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of a user's home, the businesses he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attend, and the trips he has taken - over the past months or even a year."
Rep. Edward Markey questioned whether the practice may be illegal under a federal law governing the use of location information for commercial purposes, if consumers weren't properly informed.
"Apple needs to safeguard the personal location information of its users to ensure that an iPhone doesn't become an iTrack," he said in a statement. "Collecting, storing and disclosing a consumer's location for commercial purposes without their express permission is unacceptable and would violate current law."
Apple shares rose $9.20, or 2.7 percent, to $351.71 on the strength of the company's latest quarterly financial results, which showed Apple's net income nearly doubled, in large part on strength of iPhone sales. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/22/business/20110422073307&sec=business
Saturday, April 2, 2011
AT&T Buys T-Mobile for US$39bil and Becomes Largest US Mobile Telco
Published: Monday March 21, 2011 MYT 8:54:00 AM
Updated: Monday March 21, 2011 MYT 8:55:26 AM
NEW YORK: AT&T Inc. said Sunday it will buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion that would make it the largest cellphone company in the U.S.
The deal would reduce the number of U.S. wireless carriers with national coverage from four to three, and is sure to face close regulatory scrutiny. It also removes a potential partner for Sprint Nextel Corp., the struggling No. 3 carrier, which had been in talks to combine with T-Mobile USA, according to Wall Street Journal reports.
AT&T is now America's second-largest wireless carrier and T-Mobile USA is the fourth largest. The acquisition would give AT&T 129 million subscribers, vaulting it past Verizon Wireless' 102 million. The combined company would serve about 43 percent of U.S. cellphones.
For T-Mobile USA's 33.7 million subscribers, the news doesn't immediately change anything. Because of the long regulatory process, AT&T expects the acquisition to take a year to close. But when and if it closes, T-Mobile USA customers would get access to AT&T's phone line-up, including the iPhone.
The effect of reduced competition in the cellphone industry is harder to fathom. Public interest group Public Knowledge said that eliminating one of the four national phone carriers would be "unthinkable."
"We know the results of arrangements like this - higher prices, fewer choices, less innovation," said Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn, in a statement.
T-Mobile has relatively cheap service plans compared with AT&T, particularly when comparing the kind that don't come with a two-year contract. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said one of the goals of the acquisition would be to move T-Mobile customers to smart phones, which have higher monthly fees. AT&T "will look hard" at keeping T-Mobile's no-contract plans, he said.
AT&T's general counsel, Wayne Watts, said the cellphone business is "an incredibly competitive market," with five or more carriers in most major cities. He pointed out that prices have declined in the past decade, even as the industry has consolidated. In the most recent mega-deal, Verizon Wireless bought No. 5 carrier Alltel for $5.9 billion in 2009.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast said the deal will face a tough review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. She expects them to look market-by-market at whether the deal will harm competition. Even if regulators approve the acquisition, she added, they are likely to require AT&T to sell off parts of its business or T-Mobile's business. Verizon had to sell off substantial service areas to get clearance for the Alltel acquisition.
To mollify regulators, AT&T said in a statement Sunday that it would spend an additional $8 billion to expand ultrafast wireless broadband into rural areas. Instead of covering about 80 percent of the U.S. population with its so-called Long Term Evolution, or LTE network, AT&T's new goal would be 95 percent, it said. That means blanketing an additional area 4.5 times the size of Texas. The network is scheduled to go live in a few areas this summer, but the full build-out will take years.
The offer would help the FCC and the Obama administration meet their stated goals of bringing high-speed Internet access to all Americans. They see wireless networks as critical to meeting that goal - particularly in rural areas where it does not make economic sense to build landline networks.
AT&T said its customers would benefit from the cell towers and wireless spectrum the deal would bring. In some areas, it would add 30 percent more capacity, AT&T said.
"It obviously will have a significant impact in terms of dropped calls and network performance," Stephenson said.
AT&T would pay about $25 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom, Germany's largest phone company, and stock that is equivalent to an 8 percent stake in AT&T. Deutsche Telekom would get one seat on AT&T's board.
Like Sprint, T-Mobile has been struggling to compete with much larger rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and its revenue has been largely flat for three years. Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA's subscriber count has stalled at just under 34 million, though it posts consistent profits.
Deutsche Telekom has been looking at radical moves to let it get more value out of its U.S. holding, including a possible combination with a U.S. partner.
There was a big hurdle to a T-Mobile USA-Sprint deal: The two companies use incompatible network technologies. The same hurdle would apply in a Verizon Wireless-T-Mobile USA deal. But the networks of AT&T and T-Mobile use the same underlying technology, so to some large extent, AT&T phones can already use T-Mobile's network, and vice versa.
The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies. Dallas-based AT&T can increase its cash portion by up to $4.2 billion, with a reduction in the stock component, as long as Deutsche Telekom receives at least a 5 percent equity ownership interest in the buyer.
The agreement doesn't leave room for other buyers to jump in with a higher bid, AT&T said.
AT&T would finance the cash part of the deal with new debt and cash on its balance sheet and will assume no debt from T-Mobile. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/29/business/20110329084751&sec=business
Updated: Monday March 21, 2011 MYT 8:55:26 AM
NEW YORK: AT&T Inc. said Sunday it will buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion that would make it the largest cellphone company in the U.S.
The deal would reduce the number of U.S. wireless carriers with national coverage from four to three, and is sure to face close regulatory scrutiny. It also removes a potential partner for Sprint Nextel Corp., the struggling No. 3 carrier, which had been in talks to combine with T-Mobile USA, according to Wall Street Journal reports.
AT&T is now America's second-largest wireless carrier and T-Mobile USA is the fourth largest. The acquisition would give AT&T 129 million subscribers, vaulting it past Verizon Wireless' 102 million. The combined company would serve about 43 percent of U.S. cellphones.
For T-Mobile USA's 33.7 million subscribers, the news doesn't immediately change anything. Because of the long regulatory process, AT&T expects the acquisition to take a year to close. But when and if it closes, T-Mobile USA customers would get access to AT&T's phone line-up, including the iPhone.
The effect of reduced competition in the cellphone industry is harder to fathom. Public interest group Public Knowledge said that eliminating one of the four national phone carriers would be "unthinkable."
"We know the results of arrangements like this - higher prices, fewer choices, less innovation," said Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn, in a statement.
T-Mobile has relatively cheap service plans compared with AT&T, particularly when comparing the kind that don't come with a two-year contract. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said one of the goals of the acquisition would be to move T-Mobile customers to smart phones, which have higher monthly fees. AT&T "will look hard" at keeping T-Mobile's no-contract plans, he said.
AT&T's general counsel, Wayne Watts, said the cellphone business is "an incredibly competitive market," with five or more carriers in most major cities. He pointed out that prices have declined in the past decade, even as the industry has consolidated. In the most recent mega-deal, Verizon Wireless bought No. 5 carrier Alltel for $5.9 billion in 2009.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast said the deal will face a tough review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. She expects them to look market-by-market at whether the deal will harm competition. Even if regulators approve the acquisition, she added, they are likely to require AT&T to sell off parts of its business or T-Mobile's business. Verizon had to sell off substantial service areas to get clearance for the Alltel acquisition.
To mollify regulators, AT&T said in a statement Sunday that it would spend an additional $8 billion to expand ultrafast wireless broadband into rural areas. Instead of covering about 80 percent of the U.S. population with its so-called Long Term Evolution, or LTE network, AT&T's new goal would be 95 percent, it said. That means blanketing an additional area 4.5 times the size of Texas. The network is scheduled to go live in a few areas this summer, but the full build-out will take years.
The offer would help the FCC and the Obama administration meet their stated goals of bringing high-speed Internet access to all Americans. They see wireless networks as critical to meeting that goal - particularly in rural areas where it does not make economic sense to build landline networks.
AT&T said its customers would benefit from the cell towers and wireless spectrum the deal would bring. In some areas, it would add 30 percent more capacity, AT&T said.
"It obviously will have a significant impact in terms of dropped calls and network performance," Stephenson said.
AT&T would pay about $25 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom, Germany's largest phone company, and stock that is equivalent to an 8 percent stake in AT&T. Deutsche Telekom would get one seat on AT&T's board.
Like Sprint, T-Mobile has been struggling to compete with much larger rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and its revenue has been largely flat for three years. Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA's subscriber count has stalled at just under 34 million, though it posts consistent profits.
Deutsche Telekom has been looking at radical moves to let it get more value out of its U.S. holding, including a possible combination with a U.S. partner.
There was a big hurdle to a T-Mobile USA-Sprint deal: The two companies use incompatible network technologies. The same hurdle would apply in a Verizon Wireless-T-Mobile USA deal. But the networks of AT&T and T-Mobile use the same underlying technology, so to some large extent, AT&T phones can already use T-Mobile's network, and vice versa.
The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies. Dallas-based AT&T can increase its cash portion by up to $4.2 billion, with a reduction in the stock component, as long as Deutsche Telekom receives at least a 5 percent equity ownership interest in the buyer.
The agreement doesn't leave room for other buyers to jump in with a higher bid, AT&T said.
AT&T would finance the cash part of the deal with new debt and cash on its balance sheet and will assume no debt from T-Mobile. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/29/business/20110329084751&sec=business
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
AT&T Buys T-Mobile for US$39bil and Becomes Largest US Mobile Telco
Published: Monday March 21, 2011 MYT 8:54:00 AM
Updated: Monday March 21, 2011 MYT 8:55:26 AM
NEW YORK: AT&T Inc. said Sunday it will buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion that would make it the largest cellphone company in the U.S.
The deal would reduce the number of U.S. wireless carriers with national coverage from four to three, and is sure to face close regulatory scrutiny. It also removes a potential partner for Sprint Nextel Corp., the struggling No. 3 carrier, which had been in talks to combine with T-Mobile USA, according to Wall Street Journal reports.
AT&T is now America's second-largest wireless carrier and T-Mobile USA is the fourth largest. The acquisition would give AT&T 129 million subscribers, vaulting it past Verizon Wireless' 102 million. The combined company would serve about 43 percent of U.S. cellphones.
For T-Mobile USA's 33.7 million subscribers, the news doesn't immediately change anything. Because of the long regulatory process, AT&T expects the acquisition to take a year to close. But when and if it closes, T-Mobile USA customers would get access to AT&T's phone line-up, including the iPhone.
The effect of reduced competition in the cellphone industry is harder to fathom. Public interest group Public Knowledge said that eliminating one of the four national phone carriers would be "unthinkable."
"We know the results of arrangements like this - higher prices, fewer choices, less innovation," said Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn, in a statement.
T-Mobile has relatively cheap service plans compared with AT&T, particularly when comparing the kind that don't come with a two-year contract. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said one of the goals of the acquisition would be to move T-Mobile customers to smart phones, which have higher monthly fees. AT&T "will look hard" at keeping T-Mobile's no-contract plans, he said.
AT&T's general counsel, Wayne Watts, said the cellphone business is "an incredibly competitive market," with five or more carriers in most major cities. He pointed out that prices have declined in the past decade, even as the industry has consolidated. In the most recent mega-deal, Verizon Wireless bought No. 5 carrier Alltel for $5.9 billion in 2009.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast said the deal will face a tough review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. She expects them to look market-by-market at whether the deal will harm competition. Even if regulators approve the acquisition, she added, they are likely to require AT&T to sell off parts of its business or T-Mobile's business. Verizon had to sell off substantial service areas to get clearance for the Alltel acquisition.
To mollify regulators, AT&T said in a statement Sunday that it would spend an additional $8 billion to expand ultrafast wireless broadband into rural areas. Instead of covering about 80 percent of the U.S. population with its so-called Long Term Evolution, or LTE network, AT&T's new goal would be 95 percent, it said. That means blanketing an additional area 4.5 times the size of Texas. The network is scheduled to go live in a few areas this summer, but the full build-out will take years.
The offer would help the FCC and the Obama administration meet their stated goals of bringing high-speed Internet access to all Americans. They see wireless networks as critical to meeting that goal - particularly in rural areas where it does not make economic sense to build landline networks.
AT&T said its customers would benefit from the cell towers and wireless spectrum the deal would bring. In some areas, it would add 30 percent more capacity, AT&T said.
"It obviously will have a significant impact in terms of dropped calls and network performance," Stephenson said.
AT&T would pay about $25 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom, Germany's largest phone company, and stock that is equivalent to an 8 percent stake in AT&T. Deutsche Telekom would get one seat on AT&T's board.
Like Sprint, T-Mobile has been struggling to compete with much larger rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and its revenue has been largely flat for three years. Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA's subscriber count has stalled at just under 34 million, though it posts consistent profits.
Deutsche Telekom has been looking at radical moves to let it get more value out of its U.S. holding, including a possible combination with a U.S. partner.
There was a big hurdle to a T-Mobile USA-Sprint deal: The two companies use incompatible network technologies. The same hurdle would apply in a Verizon Wireless-T-Mobile USA deal. But the networks of AT&T and T-Mobile use the same underlying technology, so to some large extent, AT&T phones can already use T-Mobile's network, and vice versa.
The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies. Dallas-based AT&T can increase its cash portion by up to $4.2 billion, with a reduction in the stock component, as long as Deutsche Telekom receives at least a 5 percent equity ownership interest in the buyer.
The agreement doesn't leave room for other buyers to jump in with a higher bid, AT&T said.
AT&T would finance the cash part of the deal with new debt and cash on its balance sheet and will assume no debt from T-Mobile. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/29/business/20110329084751&sec=business
Updated: Monday March 21, 2011 MYT 8:55:26 AM
NEW YORK: AT&T Inc. said Sunday it will buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion that would make it the largest cellphone company in the U.S.
The deal would reduce the number of U.S. wireless carriers with national coverage from four to three, and is sure to face close regulatory scrutiny. It also removes a potential partner for Sprint Nextel Corp., the struggling No. 3 carrier, which had been in talks to combine with T-Mobile USA, according to Wall Street Journal reports.
AT&T is now America's second-largest wireless carrier and T-Mobile USA is the fourth largest. The acquisition would give AT&T 129 million subscribers, vaulting it past Verizon Wireless' 102 million. The combined company would serve about 43 percent of U.S. cellphones.
For T-Mobile USA's 33.7 million subscribers, the news doesn't immediately change anything. Because of the long regulatory process, AT&T expects the acquisition to take a year to close. But when and if it closes, T-Mobile USA customers would get access to AT&T's phone line-up, including the iPhone.
The effect of reduced competition in the cellphone industry is harder to fathom. Public interest group Public Knowledge said that eliminating one of the four national phone carriers would be "unthinkable."
"We know the results of arrangements like this - higher prices, fewer choices, less innovation," said Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn, in a statement.
T-Mobile has relatively cheap service plans compared with AT&T, particularly when comparing the kind that don't come with a two-year contract. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said one of the goals of the acquisition would be to move T-Mobile customers to smart phones, which have higher monthly fees. AT&T "will look hard" at keeping T-Mobile's no-contract plans, he said.
AT&T's general counsel, Wayne Watts, said the cellphone business is "an incredibly competitive market," with five or more carriers in most major cities. He pointed out that prices have declined in the past decade, even as the industry has consolidated. In the most recent mega-deal, Verizon Wireless bought No. 5 carrier Alltel for $5.9 billion in 2009.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast said the deal will face a tough review by the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. She expects them to look market-by-market at whether the deal will harm competition. Even if regulators approve the acquisition, she added, they are likely to require AT&T to sell off parts of its business or T-Mobile's business. Verizon had to sell off substantial service areas to get clearance for the Alltel acquisition.
To mollify regulators, AT&T said in a statement Sunday that it would spend an additional $8 billion to expand ultrafast wireless broadband into rural areas. Instead of covering about 80 percent of the U.S. population with its so-called Long Term Evolution, or LTE network, AT&T's new goal would be 95 percent, it said. That means blanketing an additional area 4.5 times the size of Texas. The network is scheduled to go live in a few areas this summer, but the full build-out will take years.
The offer would help the FCC and the Obama administration meet their stated goals of bringing high-speed Internet access to all Americans. They see wireless networks as critical to meeting that goal - particularly in rural areas where it does not make economic sense to build landline networks.
AT&T said its customers would benefit from the cell towers and wireless spectrum the deal would bring. In some areas, it would add 30 percent more capacity, AT&T said.
"It obviously will have a significant impact in terms of dropped calls and network performance," Stephenson said.
AT&T would pay about $25 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom, Germany's largest phone company, and stock that is equivalent to an 8 percent stake in AT&T. Deutsche Telekom would get one seat on AT&T's board.
Like Sprint, T-Mobile has been struggling to compete with much larger rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and its revenue has been largely flat for three years. Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile USA's subscriber count has stalled at just under 34 million, though it posts consistent profits.
Deutsche Telekom has been looking at radical moves to let it get more value out of its U.S. holding, including a possible combination with a U.S. partner.
There was a big hurdle to a T-Mobile USA-Sprint deal: The two companies use incompatible network technologies. The same hurdle would apply in a Verizon Wireless-T-Mobile USA deal. But the networks of AT&T and T-Mobile use the same underlying technology, so to some large extent, AT&T phones can already use T-Mobile's network, and vice versa.
The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies. Dallas-based AT&T can increase its cash portion by up to $4.2 billion, with a reduction in the stock component, as long as Deutsche Telekom receives at least a 5 percent equity ownership interest in the buyer.
The agreement doesn't leave room for other buyers to jump in with a higher bid, AT&T said.
AT&T would finance the cash part of the deal with new debt and cash on its balance sheet and will assume no debt from T-Mobile. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/29/business/20110329084751&sec=business
Huawei Challenges US to Launch Probe
Saturday February 26, 2011
NEW YORK: China's Huawei Technologies Co has challenged the United States to launch a formal investigation into its business, in an attempt by one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment makers to clear its name from allegations that have blocked US deals.
The highly unusual call follows the outcome of a recent US government foreign investment review that is forcing Huawei to sell assets it bought from 3Leaf, a small US company.
Three years ago, Huawei had to pull back from a bigger proposed investment in 3Com, in similar circumstances.
The company said it had been the victim of misperceptions about its relationship with the Chinese military because its founder, Ren Zhengfei, served in the People's Liberation Army until 1983.
Huawei said the US should investigate any doubts it had so that it could reach an accurate conclusion.
“We're literally willing to do anything the government might ask to give them visibility,” said Bill Plummer, Huawei's US-based vice president for external affairs. “We're open to any type of investigation or audit or review that they feel would address whatever concerns they have.”
Huawei said its ability to do business in the United States had been hurt significantly in the past 10 years by unproven allegations. As well as problems it had with acquisitions, US Republican lawmakers also raised national security concerns about Huawei's bid to supply wireless network equipment to Sprint Nextel Corp last year.
But the company said nobody had proven any links between its business and military technology.
“No one has ever offered any evidence that Huawei has been involved in any military technologies at any time,” the company said in an open letter it posted on its website on Thursday.
Huawei has made huge strides in recent years in the wireless network equipment market, where it has overtaken big players such as Alcatel-Lucent. Reuters
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/26/business/8141195
NEW YORK: China's Huawei Technologies Co has challenged the United States to launch a formal investigation into its business, in an attempt by one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment makers to clear its name from allegations that have blocked US deals.
The highly unusual call follows the outcome of a recent US government foreign investment review that is forcing Huawei to sell assets it bought from 3Leaf, a small US company.
Three years ago, Huawei had to pull back from a bigger proposed investment in 3Com, in similar circumstances.
The company said it had been the victim of misperceptions about its relationship with the Chinese military because its founder, Ren Zhengfei, served in the People's Liberation Army until 1983.
Huawei said the US should investigate any doubts it had so that it could reach an accurate conclusion.
“We're literally willing to do anything the government might ask to give them visibility,” said Bill Plummer, Huawei's US-based vice president for external affairs. “We're open to any type of investigation or audit or review that they feel would address whatever concerns they have.”
Huawei said its ability to do business in the United States had been hurt significantly in the past 10 years by unproven allegations. As well as problems it had with acquisitions, US Republican lawmakers also raised national security concerns about Huawei's bid to supply wireless network equipment to Sprint Nextel Corp last year.
But the company said nobody had proven any links between its business and military technology.
“No one has ever offered any evidence that Huawei has been involved in any military technologies at any time,” the company said in an open letter it posted on its website on Thursday.
Huawei has made huge strides in recent years in the wireless network equipment market, where it has overtaken big players such as Alcatel-Lucent. Reuters
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/26/business/8141195
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
No Impact on Axiata From Licence Revocation by Punjab
Wednesday March 16, 2011
By B.K. SIDHU
bksidhu@thestar.com.my
PETALING JAYA: The issue over India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) cancelling the 2G licence for the Punjab circle will not have an impact on Axiata Group.
This was because the licence was never operational, said Axiata group in response to queries from StarBiz.
India's Idea Cellular, in which Axiata Group has a 19.3% equity stake, has 60 days to explain to the DoT as to why the 2G licence for Punjab circle should not be cancelled.
Even Etisalat DB has been asked to defend its licences in Delhi and Mumbai service areas, while Idea will have to defend its licence in the Punjab service area. The reason for the cancellation is over the failure to meet network rollout requirements, media reports from India said.
That also explains why OSK Research, in its report, said that Idea's existing licence for the Punjab circle was not at risk; rather it is the inherited licence belonging to Spice Telecom.
After the demerger of Spice and Idea, the overlap in licences did occur, Axiata said.
This is in addition to the five other overlapping licences it has for Maharashtra, Delhi, Andra Pradesh, Kartanaka and Haryana. It inherited all the licences following the demerger but Idea is required to surrender them as part of the conditions imposed by DoT.
Last November the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had proposed the cancellation of 69 of the 127 licences issued since 2006 for failure to meet rollout obligations.
The OSK report said implicit in TRAI's proposal was DoT's guidelines, which stipulated that a telco holding more than a 10% stake in another telco operating in the same circle must surrender their common licences.
“We note that Punjab's circle accounts for some 5% of Idea's subscribers base and 18%-20% of the company's revenue,'' OSK said, adding that it was maintaining its forecasts for Axiata. It still has a “buy” call on the stock.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/16/business/8276988&sec=business
By B.K. SIDHU
bksidhu@thestar.com.my
PETALING JAYA: The issue over India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) cancelling the 2G licence for the Punjab circle will not have an impact on Axiata Group.
This was because the licence was never operational, said Axiata group in response to queries from StarBiz.
India's Idea Cellular, in which Axiata Group has a 19.3% equity stake, has 60 days to explain to the DoT as to why the 2G licence for Punjab circle should not be cancelled.
Even Etisalat DB has been asked to defend its licences in Delhi and Mumbai service areas, while Idea will have to defend its licence in the Punjab service area. The reason for the cancellation is over the failure to meet network rollout requirements, media reports from India said.
That also explains why OSK Research, in its report, said that Idea's existing licence for the Punjab circle was not at risk; rather it is the inherited licence belonging to Spice Telecom.
After the demerger of Spice and Idea, the overlap in licences did occur, Axiata said.
This is in addition to the five other overlapping licences it has for Maharashtra, Delhi, Andra Pradesh, Kartanaka and Haryana. It inherited all the licences following the demerger but Idea is required to surrender them as part of the conditions imposed by DoT.
Last November the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had proposed the cancellation of 69 of the 127 licences issued since 2006 for failure to meet rollout obligations.
The OSK report said implicit in TRAI's proposal was DoT's guidelines, which stipulated that a telco holding more than a 10% stake in another telco operating in the same circle must surrender their common licences.
“We note that Punjab's circle accounts for some 5% of Idea's subscribers base and 18%-20% of the company's revenue,'' OSK said, adding that it was maintaining its forecasts for Axiata. It still has a “buy” call on the stock.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/16/business/8276988&sec=business
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Redtone ambil alih syarikat AS
Oleh WAN NAJIB WAN DAUD
najib.daud@utusan.com.my
PUCHONG 17 Ogos - Penyedia perkhidmatan jalur lebar, REDtone International Bhd. (Redtone), mengumumkan pengambilan alih berbalik sebuah syarikat Amerika Syarikat (AS), Hotgate dalam usaha syarikat tersebut mengembangkan perniagaannya di AS.
Melalui pengambilan alih itu, REDtone akan melupuskan pegangannya di dalam operasinya syarikatnya di China, REDtone China pada harga AS$22 juta (RM69.08 juta) membabitkan 58.501 juta saham biasa.
Pengarah Urusan Kumpulan REDtone, Wei Chuan Beng berkata, cadangan pelupusan tersebut merupakan jalan terbaik kepada syarikatnya untuk melepaskan pelaburan dalam anak syarikat itu.
Bagaimanapun, pelupusan itu tidak memberi sebarang keuntungan atau kerugian kepada kumpulan kerana pihaknya masih lagi memegang kepentingan secara tidak langsung menerusi Hotgate sebanyak 91.94 peratus.
"Dengan menguasai Hotgate yang disenaraikan di Over The Counter Bulletin Board, apa-apa yang berkaitan peningkatan modal yang diperlukan oleh REDtone China pada masa depan boleh dilakukan menerusi Hotgate sama ada melalui pelaksanaan penempatan atau terbitan hak," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.
Cadangan pelupusan itu merangkumi kepentingan ekuiti REDtone dalam REDtone China yang sebelum ini dikuasai 100 peratus dan selepas selesai pelupusan itu, pegangan ke atas anak syarikatnya itu akan dikurangkan kepada 92.31 peratus.
Perjanjian itu dimeterai pada 2 Ogos lalu yang mana perjanjian pelupusan 58.501 juta saham REDtone China, mewakili 100 peratus modal saham berbayar dan terbitan subsidiari itu kepada Hotgate bagi tujuan pertimbangan pelupusan.
Menurut Chuan Beng, lanjutan daripada persetujuan itu, Hotgate perlu melupuskan terbitan 244. 44 juta saham baru Hotgate pada harga AS$0.09 (RM0.28) sesaham.
Pelaksanaan cadangan itu akan menyaksikan REDtone International memiliki 247.47 juta saham Hotgate.
Beliau berkata, menerusi pegangan itu pihaknya akan menguasai 91.94 peratus terbitan yang diperbesarkan dan modal saham berbayar Hotgate sebanyak 269.16 juta saham Hotgate.
"Dengan penguasaan itu, Hotgate akan menjadi anak syarikat REDtone China," katanya.
Hotgate diperbadankan di Nevada AS, di bawah undang-undang Nevada pada 6 Januari 2005 sebagai syarikat awam berhad di bawah nama File4ward Software Inc.
Ia disenaraikan menerusi Over The Counter Bulletin Board pada 18 September 2006.
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0818&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_01.htm
najib.daud@utusan.com.my
PUCHONG 17 Ogos - Penyedia perkhidmatan jalur lebar, REDtone International Bhd. (Redtone), mengumumkan pengambilan alih berbalik sebuah syarikat Amerika Syarikat (AS), Hotgate dalam usaha syarikat tersebut mengembangkan perniagaannya di AS.
Melalui pengambilan alih itu, REDtone akan melupuskan pegangannya di dalam operasinya syarikatnya di China, REDtone China pada harga AS$22 juta (RM69.08 juta) membabitkan 58.501 juta saham biasa.
Pengarah Urusan Kumpulan REDtone, Wei Chuan Beng berkata, cadangan pelupusan tersebut merupakan jalan terbaik kepada syarikatnya untuk melepaskan pelaburan dalam anak syarikat itu.
Bagaimanapun, pelupusan itu tidak memberi sebarang keuntungan atau kerugian kepada kumpulan kerana pihaknya masih lagi memegang kepentingan secara tidak langsung menerusi Hotgate sebanyak 91.94 peratus.
"Dengan menguasai Hotgate yang disenaraikan di Over The Counter Bulletin Board, apa-apa yang berkaitan peningkatan modal yang diperlukan oleh REDtone China pada masa depan boleh dilakukan menerusi Hotgate sama ada melalui pelaksanaan penempatan atau terbitan hak," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.
Cadangan pelupusan itu merangkumi kepentingan ekuiti REDtone dalam REDtone China yang sebelum ini dikuasai 100 peratus dan selepas selesai pelupusan itu, pegangan ke atas anak syarikatnya itu akan dikurangkan kepada 92.31 peratus.
Perjanjian itu dimeterai pada 2 Ogos lalu yang mana perjanjian pelupusan 58.501 juta saham REDtone China, mewakili 100 peratus modal saham berbayar dan terbitan subsidiari itu kepada Hotgate bagi tujuan pertimbangan pelupusan.
Menurut Chuan Beng, lanjutan daripada persetujuan itu, Hotgate perlu melupuskan terbitan 244. 44 juta saham baru Hotgate pada harga AS$0.09 (RM0.28) sesaham.
Pelaksanaan cadangan itu akan menyaksikan REDtone International memiliki 247.47 juta saham Hotgate.
Beliau berkata, menerusi pegangan itu pihaknya akan menguasai 91.94 peratus terbitan yang diperbesarkan dan modal saham berbayar Hotgate sebanyak 269.16 juta saham Hotgate.
"Dengan penguasaan itu, Hotgate akan menjadi anak syarikat REDtone China," katanya.
Hotgate diperbadankan di Nevada AS, di bawah undang-undang Nevada pada 6 Januari 2005 sebagai syarikat awam berhad di bawah nama File4ward Software Inc.
Ia disenaraikan menerusi Over The Counter Bulletin Board pada 18 September 2006.
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0818&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_01.htm
Monday, August 16, 2010
Dell to buy 3Par for US$1.13bil cash
Published: Tuesday August 17, 2010 MYT 7:49:00 AM
NEW YORK: Dell Inc. said Monday it is buying 3Par Inc., a maker of enterprise data storage equipment, for about US$1.13 billion cash.
Dell is offering $18 per share for 3Par, an 87 percent premium over Friday's closing price for the company of $9.65. In premarket trading, 3Par shares surged to $17.88.
Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, expects the deal to add to its adjusted profit in fiscal 2012. It says it also plans to invest in added engineering and sales resources at 3Par.
The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close this year.
3Par, of Fremont, California, make systems designed to make efficient use of available storage space through so-called "thin provisioning," which makes it easier to add capacity when needed. 3Par had an early lead in this technology, but competitors like NetApp Inc., EMC Corp., IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are starting to catch up.
Dell already resells EMC's products under the Dell/EMC brand.
Dell said 3Par's technology is particularly suited to "cloud computing," where many customers may share the capacity of a data center.
In its latest fiscal quarter, which ended March 31, the company posted a loss of $3.2 million, or 5 cents per share on $194.3 million in revenue.
3Par was founded in 1999 and went public in November 2007 at $14 per share. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/17/business/20100817075556&sec=business
NEW YORK: Dell Inc. said Monday it is buying 3Par Inc., a maker of enterprise data storage equipment, for about US$1.13 billion cash.
Dell is offering $18 per share for 3Par, an 87 percent premium over Friday's closing price for the company of $9.65. In premarket trading, 3Par shares surged to $17.88.
Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, expects the deal to add to its adjusted profit in fiscal 2012. It says it also plans to invest in added engineering and sales resources at 3Par.
The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close this year.
3Par, of Fremont, California, make systems designed to make efficient use of available storage space through so-called "thin provisioning," which makes it easier to add capacity when needed. 3Par had an early lead in this technology, but competitors like NetApp Inc., EMC Corp., IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are starting to catch up.
Dell already resells EMC's products under the Dell/EMC brand.
Dell said 3Par's technology is particularly suited to "cloud computing," where many customers may share the capacity of a data center.
In its latest fiscal quarter, which ended March 31, the company posted a loss of $3.2 million, or 5 cents per share on $194.3 million in revenue.
3Par was founded in 1999 and went public in November 2007 at $14 per share. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/17/business/20100817075556&sec=business
Samart, Axiata in talks on 3G bid
Tuesday August 17, 2010
BANGKOK: Thai telecoms group Samart Corp Pcl yesterday said it had entered into talks with Axiata Group Bhd on plans to take part in Thailand’s upcoming auction of third-generation mobile licences.
“We are in talks with two foreign potential partners on 3G plans, in which we will use Samart I-Mobile (SIM) to join the bid,” chief executive Watchai Vilailuck told reporters.
“One of these two partners is Axiata, which already holds 24% in SIM,” he said, adding that his company planned to conclude talks over the foreign partner early next week. — Reuters
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/17/business/6866960&sec=business
BANGKOK: Thai telecoms group Samart Corp Pcl yesterday said it had entered into talks with Axiata Group Bhd on plans to take part in Thailand’s upcoming auction of third-generation mobile licences.
“We are in talks with two foreign potential partners on 3G plans, in which we will use Samart I-Mobile (SIM) to join the bid,” chief executive Watchai Vilailuck told reporters.
“One of these two partners is Axiata, which already holds 24% in SIM,” he said, adding that his company planned to conclude talks over the foreign partner early next week. — Reuters
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/17/business/6866960&sec=business
Monday, August 2, 2010
UAE, Saudi to ban BlackBerry services
Published: Monday August 2, 2010 MYT 8:27:00 AM
Updated: Monday August 2, 2010 MYT 8:36:45 AM
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: The United Arab Emirates outlined plans Sunday to block BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web browsing services in a crackdown that could jeopardize efforts to establish the country as an international business hub.
The government cited a potential security threat because encrypted data sent on the devices is moved abroad, where it cannot be monitored for illegal activity.
But the decision — quickly followed by a similar move in Saudi Arabia — raises questions about whether the conservative Gulf nations are trying to further control content they deem politically or morally objectionable.
BlackBerry phones have a strong following in the region, not only among foreign professionals in commercial centers such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but also among youth who see their relatively secure communication channels as a way to avoid unwanted government attention.
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2009 file photo, a man talks on his smart phone at the Dubai Financial Market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The UAE said Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010 it will block key features on BlackBerry smart phones, citing national security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use. Officials in neighboring Saudi Arabia indicated it planned to follow suit. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File) "Yes that's true, but it can also be used by civil society campaigners and activists."
The UAE's decision will prevent hundreds of thousands of BlackBerry users from accessing e-mail and the Web on their handsets starting in October.
It's unclear whether the ban will extend to foreign visitors with roaming services, including the roughly 100,000 passengers who pass through the region's busiest airport in Dubai each day.
The ban risks further damaging the UAE's reputation as a relatively easy place to do business.
Dubai, one of seven hereditary sheikdoms in the federation, in particular has sought to turn itself into a global finance, trade and tourism hub.
FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2010 file photo, a BlackBerry smart phone is displayed at the Mobile World congress in Barcelona, Spain. The UAE said Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010 it will block key features on BlackBerry smart phones, citing national security concerns because the devices operate beyond the government's ability to monitor their use. Neighboring Saudi Arabia quickly indicated it planned to follow suit. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File) Residents say the BlackBerry crackdown will only do more harm, making foreign businesses think twice before setting up shop in the country.
"They'll think now they've banned the BlackBerry, maybe next time it'll be the Internet," said Shakir Mahmood, a Dubai-based debt collector and Blackberry user originally from Iraq.
This isn't the first time BlackBerry and Emirati officials have had run-ins over security and the popular handsets, a fixture in professionals' pockets and purses the world over.
Last year, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company's BlackBerry users to install software described as an "upgrade" required for "service enhancements."
RIM said tests showed it was in fact spy software that could allow outsiders to access private information stored on the phones. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat's decision and told users how to remove the software.
Within hours of Sunday's UAE decision to block BlackBerry services, a telecommunications official in neighboring Saudi Arabia said the desert kingdom would do the same, starting later this month. The Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said the country's telecommunications regulator would issue a statement soon.
Ali Mohammed of Saudi Telecom, however, said the company had "not received any instructions about BlackBerry from the ministry."
Government censors in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE routinely block access to websites and other media deemed to carry content that runs contrary to the nations' conservative Islamic values or that could stoke political unrest.
Regulators in the UAE say BlackBerry devices operate outside a set of national security and safety laws enacted in 2007, the year after the BlackBerry debuted in the UAE. They say they are concerned some BlackBerry services "allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns."
The government said it is singling out the BlackBerry, and not other smart phones such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Nokia Corp. handsets, because the Blackberry is the only one that automatically sends users' data to servers overseas.
Unlike other smart phones, BlackBerry devices use a system that updates a user's inbox by sending encrypted messages through company servers abroad, including RIM's home country of Canada.
Users like the system because it is seen as more secure, but it also makes BlackBerry messages far harder to monitor than ones sent through domestic servers that authorities can more easily tap into, analysts say.
"This is the irony, that it's the device with the highest security features. These same security features that corporations like have become an issue of national security for the government," said Simon Simonian, an analyst at Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital. "The UAE doesn't want to take any chances and they want to monitor what is going on in the country."
The dispute highlights an ongoing tug-of-war between autocratic governments determined to control what information citizens consume online and share with others, and technology providers whose loyalties lie with their customers and shareholders.
Similar tensions erupted earlier this year between China and Google Inc. after the Internet company said it would stop censoring its search results in the country. After China warned it might not renew its license, Google agreed to obey local laws and stop automatically switching mainland users to its unfiltered Hong Kong site.
Emirati authorities are eager to portray an image of a safe and stable society free from the extremism found elsewhere in the region. They have taken steps to crack down on terror financing and efforts by neighboring Iran to sidestep international sanctions over its nuclear program.
Davidson cited alarm in the UAE and other Gulf nations over the role online organization played in helping to drive anti-government protests in Iran during the 2009 elections as a factor in their moves to tighten Internet controls.
Emirati regulators said in a statement they sought to reach a compromise with RIM on their concerns, but failed to come to an agreement.
"With no solution available and in the public interest ... BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry E-mail and BlackBerry Web-browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied," said the director-general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Mohamed al-Ghanim.
"BlackBerry appears to be compliant in similar regulatory environments of other countries, which makes noncompliance in the UAE both disappointing and of great concern," he added in a statement carried on state news agency WAM.
A spokeswoman for RIM said the Canadian company had no immediate comment.
Other countries, including India and the Gulf state of Bahrain, have also raised concerns about BlackBerry messaging features, but have not blocked them outright.
RIM said in a statement last week it "respects both the regulatory requirements of government and the security and privacy needs of corporations and consumers."
The company declined to disclose details of talks it has had with regulators in the more than 175 countries where it operates, but defended its phones' security features as "widely accepted" by customers and governments.
Etisalat and Du, the UAE's two state-run telephone companies, said they are working on alternative services for their BlackBerry customers.
RIM does not disclose the number of BlackBerry users in the UAE. However, analyst Simonian estimated there are "hundreds of thousands" of BlackBerry users in the country.
None contacted by The Associated Press on Sunday said they supported the pending ban.
"I find it irritating, actually. It's a service everyone is using, and all of a sudden, they're just going to disconnect it?" said a 30-year-old manager at a Dubai mall who would give only his first name, Khalid, because he did not want to attract attention from the authorities. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/2/business/20100802083238&sec=business
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
iPhone faces competition from Android handsets
Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 05.17 PM
Published: 2010/07/28Share PDF
SINGAPORE: Apple's iPhone will likely dominate the high-end smartphone market in the next five years but faces strong competition from handsets using Google's Android platform, a research firm said yesterday.
By 2015, total mobile application downloads in the Asia-Pacific are forecast to reach 5.30 billion, of which 597.15 million, or about 11 per cent, will be for the iPhone, technology industry consultancy Ovum said.
Downloads of iPhone applications are estimated at US$62.16 million (US$1 = RM3.19) in 2010, Ovum said in an analysis released four days before the launch of the new-generation iPhone 4 in another 17 countries and cities worldwide on Friday.
The iPhone 4 is expected "to face much stiffer competition than its predecessors", Ovum principal analyst Adam Leach said in a statement.
"The rise of Google Android over the last two years has been phenomenal and is allowing manufacturers to create appealing alternatives to the iPhone, critically at cheaper prices," Leach said.
"The risk to Apple is that these devices offer greater freedom with available content and may prove more appealing, if it offers the right user and developer experience, than a device with Apple-approved content only," said Leach.
From July 30, customers can purchase the iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. - AFP
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/androy/Article/index_html
Published: 2010/07/28Share PDF
SINGAPORE: Apple's iPhone will likely dominate the high-end smartphone market in the next five years but faces strong competition from handsets using Google's Android platform, a research firm said yesterday.
By 2015, total mobile application downloads in the Asia-Pacific are forecast to reach 5.30 billion, of which 597.15 million, or about 11 per cent, will be for the iPhone, technology industry consultancy Ovum said.
Downloads of iPhone applications are estimated at US$62.16 million (US$1 = RM3.19) in 2010, Ovum said in an analysis released four days before the launch of the new-generation iPhone 4 in another 17 countries and cities worldwide on Friday.
The iPhone 4 is expected "to face much stiffer competition than its predecessors", Ovum principal analyst Adam Leach said in a statement.
"The rise of Google Android over the last two years has been phenomenal and is allowing manufacturers to create appealing alternatives to the iPhone, critically at cheaper prices," Leach said.
"The risk to Apple is that these devices offer greater freedom with available content and may prove more appealing, if it offers the right user and developer experience, than a device with Apple-approved content only," said Leach.
From July 30, customers can purchase the iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. - AFP
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/androy/Article/index_html
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Vodafone introduces solar powered mobile phone to India
Published: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 7:35:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 8:03:42 AM
MUMBAI, India: Vodafone Essar Ltd. has unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses.
India has been adding nearly 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best.
A third of Indians don't have access to electricity, but they do get plenty of sun.
Samsung launched a solar-powered handset about a year ago, and Vodafone is now joining in the effort to bridge that infrastructure gap.
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne displays the a solar powered mobile handset during its launch in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. Vodafone Essar Ltd. unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India Tuesday, in a bid to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses. India has been adding close to 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) "This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile," Vodafone Essar Chief Executive Marten Pieters said in a statement.
The VF 247 Solar Powered phone, priced at 1,500 rupees (US$32), should be available in stores next month.
It needs eight hours of direct sunlight to be fully charged and can support more than eight days of use on standby and four hours of talk time.
It also comes with an electronic charger, an FM radio and a powerful torch light.
Vodafone Essar, a leading wireless provider in India, is a unit of Vodafone Group PLC. - AP
Latest business news from AP-Wire
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/business/20100728074023&sec=business
Updated: Wednesday July 28, 2010 MYT 8:03:42 AM
MUMBAI, India: Vodafone Essar Ltd. has unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses.
India has been adding nearly 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best.
A third of Indians don't have access to electricity, but they do get plenty of sun.
Samsung launched a solar-powered handset about a year ago, and Vodafone is now joining in the effort to bridge that infrastructure gap.
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne displays the a solar powered mobile handset during its launch in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. Vodafone Essar Ltd. unveiled a solar-powered mobile handset in India Tuesday, in a bid to better serve the nation's energy-starved rural masses. India has been adding close to 20 million mobile subscribers each month, many of them in rural areas, where electricity supply can be patchy at best. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) "This launch is likely to enable more people in rural India to go mobile," Vodafone Essar Chief Executive Marten Pieters said in a statement.
The VF 247 Solar Powered phone, priced at 1,500 rupees (US$32), should be available in stores next month.
It needs eight hours of direct sunlight to be fully charged and can support more than eight days of use on standby and four hours of talk time.
It also comes with an electronic charger, an FM radio and a powerful torch light.
Vodafone Essar, a leading wireless provider in India, is a unit of Vodafone Group PLC. - AP
Latest business news from AP-Wire
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/business/20100728074023&sec=business
Monday, July 26, 2010
Axiata's unit jumps to record in Colombo
Published: 2010/07/27
Dialog Axiata Plc, Sri Lanka’s biggest mobile-phone operator, rose to a record in Colombo trading after turning to a second-quarter profit.
Dialog rose as much as 4.8 per cent to 11 rupees, and traded at 10.75 rupees at 9.38 am local time.
Net income was 1.37 billion rupees (US$12.2 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of 7.7 billion rupees a year earlier, the unit of Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd. said after the market closed yesterday. - Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100727131004/Article/index_html
Dialog Axiata Plc, Sri Lanka’s biggest mobile-phone operator, rose to a record in Colombo trading after turning to a second-quarter profit.
Dialog rose as much as 4.8 per cent to 11 rupees, and traded at 10.75 rupees at 9.38 am local time.
Net income was 1.37 billion rupees (US$12.2 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of 7.7 billion rupees a year earlier, the unit of Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd. said after the market closed yesterday. - Bloomberg
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100727131004/Article/index_html
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Google to buy air ticket booking company for US$700mil
Published: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 7:26:00 AM
Updated: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 7:27:35 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc. plans to buy travel technology company ITA Software Inc. in a US$700 million deal that would enable the Internet search leader to steer more of the airline reservations booked on the Web.
The all-cash deal announced Thursday signals Google's intention to challenge flight-comparison services that are ITA customers, including Kayak, FareCompare, Hotwire and Microsoft Corp.'s Bing Travel.
The deal is likely to face a rigorous review by federal antitrust regulators.
"There is clearly more room for competition and innovation" in online travel, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a conference call.
"We will improve the way flight information is organized."
ITA Software, a 500-employee company created in 1996 by computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sells technology that helps run the reservation systems of many airlines, including American, Southwest, Alaska and Continental.
Its software also powers the tools that other travel websites use to track air fares.
The widespread reliance on ITA's technology means federal regulators are likely to spend six months to a year trying to determine whether the acquisition will give Google an unfair advantage in the rapidly growing online travel market, said Ted Henneberry, an antitrust lawyer in Washington for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
"This is going to raise a lot of eyebrows," he said.
Schmidt did not predict when the deal might close, but said he expected Google would ultimately win approval after regulators take a "fair amount" of time to review the deal.
"We are pretty confident that this is pro-competitive and pro-consumer," Schmidt said. Both the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Thursday.
Google is counting on ITA's expertise to improve the quality of its search results when people are looking to make airline reservations.
Schmidt predicted the biggest winners in this deal would be consumers, but he also predicted Google would be able to drive more traffic to airlines and travel agencies such as Orbitz and Expedia.
Google would profit from ITA's technology by selling more ads alongside the flight data.
Bing has been picking up more traffic with features that help people figure out whether the prices of airline prices are likely to increase or decrease.
Like other search engines specializing in travel, Bing checks multiple sites at once for the best deals and sends users to those sites to book there.
Google intends to honor all of ITA's existing contracts if the acquisition is approved.
It's unclear whether Google would still want to work with some of its rivals after the contracts expire.
This isn't the first Google acquisition to come under intense scrutiny.
Regulators took nearly a year to approve the company's $3.2 billion purchase of online ad service DoubleClick in 2008 and six months to OK its recent $750 million takeover of mobile ad service AdMob.
Those successes may have emboldened Google to buy ITA Software, too, Henneberry said. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702073125&sec=business
Updated: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 7:27:35 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc. plans to buy travel technology company ITA Software Inc. in a US$700 million deal that would enable the Internet search leader to steer more of the airline reservations booked on the Web.
The all-cash deal announced Thursday signals Google's intention to challenge flight-comparison services that are ITA customers, including Kayak, FareCompare, Hotwire and Microsoft Corp.'s Bing Travel.
The deal is likely to face a rigorous review by federal antitrust regulators.
"There is clearly more room for competition and innovation" in online travel, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a conference call.
"We will improve the way flight information is organized."
ITA Software, a 500-employee company created in 1996 by computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sells technology that helps run the reservation systems of many airlines, including American, Southwest, Alaska and Continental.
Its software also powers the tools that other travel websites use to track air fares.
The widespread reliance on ITA's technology means federal regulators are likely to spend six months to a year trying to determine whether the acquisition will give Google an unfair advantage in the rapidly growing online travel market, said Ted Henneberry, an antitrust lawyer in Washington for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
"This is going to raise a lot of eyebrows," he said.
Schmidt did not predict when the deal might close, but said he expected Google would ultimately win approval after regulators take a "fair amount" of time to review the deal.
"We are pretty confident that this is pro-competitive and pro-consumer," Schmidt said. Both the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Thursday.
Google is counting on ITA's expertise to improve the quality of its search results when people are looking to make airline reservations.
Schmidt predicted the biggest winners in this deal would be consumers, but he also predicted Google would be able to drive more traffic to airlines and travel agencies such as Orbitz and Expedia.
Google would profit from ITA's technology by selling more ads alongside the flight data.
Bing has been picking up more traffic with features that help people figure out whether the prices of airline prices are likely to increase or decrease.
Like other search engines specializing in travel, Bing checks multiple sites at once for the best deals and sends users to those sites to book there.
Google intends to honor all of ITA's existing contracts if the acquisition is approved.
It's unclear whether Google would still want to work with some of its rivals after the contracts expire.
This isn't the first Google acquisition to come under intense scrutiny.
Regulators took nearly a year to approve the company's $3.2 billion purchase of online ad service DoubleClick in 2008 and six months to OK its recent $750 million takeover of mobile ad service AdMob.
Those successes may have emboldened Google to buy ITA Software, too, Henneberry said. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702073125&sec=business
Google says China partially blocks search service
Published: Friday July 2, 2010 MYT 9:10:00 AM
BEIJING: A Google search feature was blocked in China on Thursday, the company said as it awaited Beijing's decision on whether to renew its operating license amid tensions over censorship.
Google Inc. said mainland users were unable to use the search giant's "suggest" feature, which offers possible results as they start to type a query.
When it works, the feature may offer Chinese users a reminder that "tiananmen square massacre pictures" are available - but perhaps blocked - when they simply start typing in "tiananmen."
"It appears that search queries produced by Google Suggest are being blocked for mainland users in China," Google spokeswoman Jessica Powell said in an e-mail.
"Normal searches that do not use query suggestions are unaffected."
Although Google services such as YouTube do get blocked from time to time, the new constraints are the latest example of the Chinese government using its power to make Google's search engine a less convenient option on the mainland.
Google this week stopped automatically redirecting traffic from mainland China to its Hong Kong site after the government warned the maneuver could result in the loss of the company's Internet license in the country.
Google's relations with Beijing have been deteriorating since the U.S.-based search giant took a stand against the government's online censorship rules in response to computer hacking attacks that the company traced to China.
Google closed its China-based search engine March 22 and began routing users to its unfiltered site in Hong Kong.
With the shift, Google hoped to be able to maintain its technological toehold in one of the Internet's most important markets while sticking to its free-speech principles.
But the Chinese government's threats to take away Google's license indicate it may punish Google for its defiance, even if the retaliation undermines the country's efforts to encourage more technological innovation.
Losing the Chinese license would be a significant setback for Google, even though China will only account for a fraction of the company's projected $28 billion in revenue this year.
China already has emerged as the Internet's most populous market with nearly 400 million Web surfers, and usage is expected to rise for years to come.
Anything that hinders Google's ability to mine the China's growth potential would likely hurt its stock price, which has already fallen by nearly 30 percent since the start of the year.
The shares were down $3.81 to $441.14 in afternoon trading Thursday.
Although Google's China license runs until 2012, it must be renewed annually.
The company applied for renewal before Wednesday's filing deadline. Google hasn't received any indication when regulators will rule on the application.
The official Xinhua News Agency said "there will be a result soon" and Google was "very late" in submitting the application. Phone calls to the regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, were not answered.
A foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, did not answer directly when asked whether Google would be allowed to operate in China.
"Internet operating companies, while doing business in China, should abide by Chinese laws and regulations," Qin said.
"We hope all foreign companies, including Internet companies, should comply with Chinese laws and regulations."
The China site, Google.cn, was operating Thursday with a tab that said "we have moved to google.com.hk." Clicking on that took users to the Hong Kong site.
If Chinese regulators decide the new linking technique still isn't enough to renew Google's license, Web surfers could still reach the Chinese-language Hong Kong site by typing in its ".hk" address directly. Industry analysts, though, believe many people would defect to Chinese competitors such as Baidu Inc.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, has about 30 percent of China's search market, compared with Baidu's 60 percent.
Analysts say the rerouting of mainland China search requests so far has had little effect on revenue, but the outright closure of Google.cn could hurt advertising sales.
Google opened its China site in 2006 to attract more Chinese users after the government filters slowed their access to its main U.S. site, Google.com.
In a letter requesting Google's license renewal, the company's local partner, Guxiang Information Technology Co. Ltd., pledged to "abide by the Chinese law" and "provide no lawbreaking contents," Xinhua reported.
Also Thursday, a state-run newspaper said Google is not on the first list of companies that the government plans to approve to provide online mapping services.
Twenty-three domestic companies including Baidu, portal Sohu Inc. and e-commerce site Alibaba are among those expected to be approved, the China Daily said, citing the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
Asked for comment on Google's situation, a U.S. State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, said Wednesday in Washington, "I think there are negotiations ongoing, and these are a matter between China and Google." - AP
Online:
Google China site (in Chinese):
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702091516&sec=business
BEIJING: A Google search feature was blocked in China on Thursday, the company said as it awaited Beijing's decision on whether to renew its operating license amid tensions over censorship.
Google Inc. said mainland users were unable to use the search giant's "suggest" feature, which offers possible results as they start to type a query.
When it works, the feature may offer Chinese users a reminder that "tiananmen square massacre pictures" are available - but perhaps blocked - when they simply start typing in "tiananmen."
"It appears that search queries produced by Google Suggest are being blocked for mainland users in China," Google spokeswoman Jessica Powell said in an e-mail.
"Normal searches that do not use query suggestions are unaffected."
Although Google services such as YouTube do get blocked from time to time, the new constraints are the latest example of the Chinese government using its power to make Google's search engine a less convenient option on the mainland.
Google this week stopped automatically redirecting traffic from mainland China to its Hong Kong site after the government warned the maneuver could result in the loss of the company's Internet license in the country.
Google's relations with Beijing have been deteriorating since the U.S.-based search giant took a stand against the government's online censorship rules in response to computer hacking attacks that the company traced to China.
Google closed its China-based search engine March 22 and began routing users to its unfiltered site in Hong Kong.
With the shift, Google hoped to be able to maintain its technological toehold in one of the Internet's most important markets while sticking to its free-speech principles.
But the Chinese government's threats to take away Google's license indicate it may punish Google for its defiance, even if the retaliation undermines the country's efforts to encourage more technological innovation.
Losing the Chinese license would be a significant setback for Google, even though China will only account for a fraction of the company's projected $28 billion in revenue this year.
China already has emerged as the Internet's most populous market with nearly 400 million Web surfers, and usage is expected to rise for years to come.
Anything that hinders Google's ability to mine the China's growth potential would likely hurt its stock price, which has already fallen by nearly 30 percent since the start of the year.
The shares were down $3.81 to $441.14 in afternoon trading Thursday.
Although Google's China license runs until 2012, it must be renewed annually.
The company applied for renewal before Wednesday's filing deadline. Google hasn't received any indication when regulators will rule on the application.
The official Xinhua News Agency said "there will be a result soon" and Google was "very late" in submitting the application. Phone calls to the regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, were not answered.
A foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, did not answer directly when asked whether Google would be allowed to operate in China.
"Internet operating companies, while doing business in China, should abide by Chinese laws and regulations," Qin said.
"We hope all foreign companies, including Internet companies, should comply with Chinese laws and regulations."
The China site, Google.cn, was operating Thursday with a tab that said "we have moved to google.com.hk." Clicking on that took users to the Hong Kong site.
If Chinese regulators decide the new linking technique still isn't enough to renew Google's license, Web surfers could still reach the Chinese-language Hong Kong site by typing in its ".hk" address directly. Industry analysts, though, believe many people would defect to Chinese competitors such as Baidu Inc.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, has about 30 percent of China's search market, compared with Baidu's 60 percent.
Analysts say the rerouting of mainland China search requests so far has had little effect on revenue, but the outright closure of Google.cn could hurt advertising sales.
Google opened its China site in 2006 to attract more Chinese users after the government filters slowed their access to its main U.S. site, Google.com.
In a letter requesting Google's license renewal, the company's local partner, Guxiang Information Technology Co. Ltd., pledged to "abide by the Chinese law" and "provide no lawbreaking contents," Xinhua reported.
Also Thursday, a state-run newspaper said Google is not on the first list of companies that the government plans to approve to provide online mapping services.
Twenty-three domestic companies including Baidu, portal Sohu Inc. and e-commerce site Alibaba are among those expected to be approved, the China Daily said, citing the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
Asked for comment on Google's situation, a U.S. State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, said Wednesday in Washington, "I think there are negotiations ongoing, and these are a matter between China and Google." - AP
Online:
Google China site (in Chinese):
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/20100702091516&sec=business
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Strategy Analytics: Mobile Operators Risk Losing Billions of Euros to Triple and Quad Play
By: Business Wire
24 May 2010
12:13 PM
BOSTON, May 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mobile Operators risk losing billions in revenue unless they compete effectively with large fixed-service providers offering Triple or Quad Play. Strategy Analytics Tariff and Revenue Strategies (TRS) service modeled the market and revenue potential for a Mobile Broadband Triple Play (MBTP) service that could compete against this threat, in the report, "How Mobile Broadband Wins Against Quad Play." Operators should consider bundling Mobile Broadband plus Internet Broadband and Home Phone - a service package that 4G networks will soon be able to deliver.
TRM projected responses in six key markets - France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, US - where between one-quarter and one-third of users would consider purchasing the MBTP bundle rather than a full Quad Play solution that included TV at a slightly higher price. On an annual basis the risk exposure could be over 10 billion Euros each in France, Germany and Italy and nearly 70 billion dollars in the US.
Sue Rudd, Director of TRS notes, "Mobile operators can defend themselves with new combinations of Triple Play for Mobile Services like MBTP. The Quad Play threat has become very real." Rudd added, "In March AT&T's fixed business U-verse Triple Play included a mobile voice option. Now AT&T has launched full Quad Play with integrated mobile data.
"Service providers need to understand the optimal mix of price points, features and brand positioning across a wide range of current and potential multi-play service options to develop competitive responses in their markets." added David Kerr, Vice President. "Strategy Analytics provides a tool set that allows operators to evaluate these responses for current and future value propositions." The scenario results are described in a two part report that addresses several key questions: -- Where are the projected annual revenues for bundled multi-play services? -- What services are currently purchased by users who would switch to MBTP? -- Where can MBTP compete successfully with Quad play service bundles? -- Which countries offer the best opportunities for new multi-play service bundles? For a complimentary Executive Summary please click here.
About Strategy Analytics Strategy Analytics, Inc. offers high frequency market intelligence on multimedia, fixed and mobile communications. For more information, please visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com SOURCE: Strategy Analytics, Inc.
CONTACT: Strategy Analytics, Inc. US Contact: Sue Rudd, +1-617-614 0709 srudd@strategyanalytics.com or European Contact: Phil Kendall, +44 (1908) 423620 Pkendall@strategyanalytics.com Copyright Business Wire 2010 -0- KEYWORD: United States
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37317676/
24 May 2010
12:13 PM
BOSTON, May 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mobile Operators risk losing billions in revenue unless they compete effectively with large fixed-service providers offering Triple or Quad Play. Strategy Analytics Tariff and Revenue Strategies (TRS) service modeled the market and revenue potential for a Mobile Broadband Triple Play (MBTP) service that could compete against this threat, in the report, "How Mobile Broadband Wins Against Quad Play." Operators should consider bundling Mobile Broadband plus Internet Broadband and Home Phone - a service package that 4G networks will soon be able to deliver.
TRM projected responses in six key markets - France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, US - where between one-quarter and one-third of users would consider purchasing the MBTP bundle rather than a full Quad Play solution that included TV at a slightly higher price. On an annual basis the risk exposure could be over 10 billion Euros each in France, Germany and Italy and nearly 70 billion dollars in the US.
Sue Rudd, Director of TRS notes, "Mobile operators can defend themselves with new combinations of Triple Play for Mobile Services like MBTP. The Quad Play threat has become very real." Rudd added, "In March AT&T's fixed business U-verse Triple Play included a mobile voice option. Now AT&T has launched full Quad Play with integrated mobile data.
"Service providers need to understand the optimal mix of price points, features and brand positioning across a wide range of current and potential multi-play service options to develop competitive responses in their markets." added David Kerr, Vice President. "Strategy Analytics provides a tool set that allows operators to evaluate these responses for current and future value propositions." The scenario results are described in a two part report that addresses several key questions: -- Where are the projected annual revenues for bundled multi-play services? -- What services are currently purchased by users who would switch to MBTP? -- Where can MBTP compete successfully with Quad play service bundles? -- Which countries offer the best opportunities for new multi-play service bundles? For a complimentary Executive Summary please click here.
About Strategy Analytics Strategy Analytics, Inc. offers high frequency market intelligence on multimedia, fixed and mobile communications. For more information, please visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com SOURCE: Strategy Analytics, Inc.
CONTACT: Strategy Analytics, Inc. US Contact: Sue Rudd, +1-617-614 0709 srudd@strategyanalytics.com or European Contact: Phil Kendall, +44 (1908) 423620 Pkendall@strategyanalytics.com Copyright Business Wire 2010 -0- KEYWORD: United States
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37317676/
Monday, June 7, 2010
Google denies use of private data for mapping
Published: Tuesday June 8, 2010 MYT 7:19:00 AM
HARTFORD, Connecticut: Google representatives say they're working with authorities to address privacy concerns over its mapping service.
Last month, Google acknowledged it had mistakenly collected data over public Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries. Authorities fear the collection may violate privacy laws.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal held a news conference Monday urging the search engine company to reveal whether it illegally collected data from state personal and business wireless computer networks for the Street View feature.
In an email to The Associated Press, a Google spokeswoman said its Wi-Fi collection and Street View feature, which provides pictures of neighborhoods, are unrelated.
Police in Germany and Australia already have launched their own investigations into the matter. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/8/business/20100608072430&sec=business
HARTFORD, Connecticut: Google representatives say they're working with authorities to address privacy concerns over its mapping service.
Last month, Google acknowledged it had mistakenly collected data over public Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries. Authorities fear the collection may violate privacy laws.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal held a news conference Monday urging the search engine company to reveal whether it illegally collected data from state personal and business wireless computer networks for the Street View feature.
In an email to The Associated Press, a Google spokeswoman said its Wi-Fi collection and Street View feature, which provides pictures of neighborhoods, are unrelated.
Police in Germany and Australia already have launched their own investigations into the matter. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/8/business/20100608072430&sec=business
New, better, slimmer, iPhone unveiled
Published: Tuesday June 8, 2010 MYT 7:25:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday June 8, 2010 MYT 9:02:37 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: The next iPhone comes out June 24 and will have a higher-resolution screen, longer battery life and thinner design.
CEO Steve Jobs opened Apple Inc.'s annual conference for software developers Monday by demonstrating the iPhone 4, which will cost US$199 or $299 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T contract, depending on the capacity.
The iPhone 3GS, which debuted last year, will still be available, for $99.
Some of the mystery surrounding Apple's latest creation had been punctured in April, when the tech blog Gizmodo bought a lost iPhone prototype for $5,000 and posted pictures of the unit.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs smiles with new iPhone at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Apple demanded it back, and authorities have been investigating whether a Gizmodo editor broke any laws.
"Stop me if you've already seen this," Jobs said Monday as he started his demo.
The iPhone 4 is sleeker and more advanced than the original iPhone that came out in 2007. Like the iPhone 3GS, it comes in black or white, though it has a more angular look.
Its front and back are covered with glass, and it is rimmed with stainless steel that acts as part of the phone's antenna.
It is about three-eighths of an inch thick; the iPhone 3GS is nearly half an inch.
It can shoot high-definition video, catching up to some other smart phones.
It has a gyroscope in addition to other sensors, to enable more advanced motion-sensing applications, such as games and mapping services.
The display on the iPhone remains 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) diagonally, but Jobs noted that it can show four times as many pixels - the individual colored dots that make up an image - as the previous screen.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, left, talks to a friend using the new FaceTime program on the iPhone 4 during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
That makes for a sharper appearance.
One of the most noticeable changes is the iPhone's new camera on the front that can be used for videoconferencing, in addition to a five-megapixel camera and a flash on the back.
For now, the videoconferencing function, FaceTime, works only if both parties to the call have an iPhone 4 and are connected over Wi-Fi rather than a cell phone network.
Jobs indicated that FaceTime will eventually work over cellular networks, saying Apple needs to "work a little bit" with wireless providers to make it "ready for the future."
The battery on the new iPhone will allow up to seven hours of talk time - an improvement over five hours on the last model.
It can handle up to six hours of Web browsing over cellular networks or 10 hours over Wi-Fi.
The new phone will run the latest version of Apple's mobile software, now called iOS4, which Apple unveiled in April to offer such features as the ability to operate more than one program at a time.
Older iPhones and iPod Touch devices will be able to get iOS4 as a free download June 21, though not all features will work on them.
New applications for the device will include a version of the popular game Farmville and one from Netflix that lets people watch streaming video where they left off on their TV.
Apple is trying to tighten the links between the iPhone and its iPad tablet, which came out April 3.
It is releasing a version of its iBooks e-reading application for the iPhone, which means people could buy an e-book from Apple on either device and read it on either one as well.
Michael Gartenberg, a partner at analyst firm Altimeter Group, said the iPhone upgrade puts pressure on smart-phone makers that use Google's Android operating software.
Android, which was first released on a phone in 2008, has been gaining popularity as major phone makers such have Motorola Inc. have relied on the software for iPhone rivals such as the Droid.
"I think Apple knows how to teach people about things they don't yet know they want," he said.
Meanwhile Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs was thwarted Monday in his attempt to show off how clearly the newest iPhone displays Web pages, apparently because too many people were clogging the airwaves at the conference where he was on stage.
Jobs tried three times during his keynote to do a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 4's screen resolution versus its predecessor's.
He was trying to call up The New York Times' Web page, but it wouldn't load because too many devices in the room were operating over Wi-Fi, swamping the frequency.
Jobs switched to backup phones for the demonstration, but he was still stymied.
"Well jeez, I don't like this," Jobs groused.
He abandoned the demo while staffers investigated.
Technological glitches at technology conferences are common, but less so at Apple's carefully choreographed events.
Last month at a demonstration of Google Inc.'s Internet television technology, Google representatives had trouble showing how easy it was supposed to be to switch back and forth between browsing Web content and TV programming.
Google pleaded with attendees to shut off their wireless connections, as did Jobs on Monday. He asked bloggers and other people in the room to turn off their wireless connections and put their computers on the floor.
"I think bloggers have a right to blog, but if we want to see the demos we're going to have to do it," he said.
The demos immediately after that went smoothly.
But a later demo of a video-calling feature that requires a wireless Internet connection was sluggish at times. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/8/business/20100608072800&sec=business
Updated: Tuesday June 8, 2010 MYT 9:02:37 AM
SAN FRANCISCO: The next iPhone comes out June 24 and will have a higher-resolution screen, longer battery life and thinner design.
CEO Steve Jobs opened Apple Inc.'s annual conference for software developers Monday by demonstrating the iPhone 4, which will cost US$199 or $299 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T contract, depending on the capacity.
The iPhone 3GS, which debuted last year, will still be available, for $99.
Some of the mystery surrounding Apple's latest creation had been punctured in April, when the tech blog Gizmodo bought a lost iPhone prototype for $5,000 and posted pictures of the unit.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs smiles with new iPhone at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Apple demanded it back, and authorities have been investigating whether a Gizmodo editor broke any laws.
"Stop me if you've already seen this," Jobs said Monday as he started his demo.
The iPhone 4 is sleeker and more advanced than the original iPhone that came out in 2007. Like the iPhone 3GS, it comes in black or white, though it has a more angular look.
Its front and back are covered with glass, and it is rimmed with stainless steel that acts as part of the phone's antenna.
It is about three-eighths of an inch thick; the iPhone 3GS is nearly half an inch.
It can shoot high-definition video, catching up to some other smart phones.
It has a gyroscope in addition to other sensors, to enable more advanced motion-sensing applications, such as games and mapping services.
The display on the iPhone remains 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) diagonally, but Jobs noted that it can show four times as many pixels - the individual colored dots that make up an image - as the previous screen.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, left, talks to a friend using the new FaceTime program on the iPhone 4 during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
That makes for a sharper appearance.
One of the most noticeable changes is the iPhone's new camera on the front that can be used for videoconferencing, in addition to a five-megapixel camera and a flash on the back.
For now, the videoconferencing function, FaceTime, works only if both parties to the call have an iPhone 4 and are connected over Wi-Fi rather than a cell phone network.
Jobs indicated that FaceTime will eventually work over cellular networks, saying Apple needs to "work a little bit" with wireless providers to make it "ready for the future."
The battery on the new iPhone will allow up to seven hours of talk time - an improvement over five hours on the last model.
It can handle up to six hours of Web browsing over cellular networks or 10 hours over Wi-Fi.
The new phone will run the latest version of Apple's mobile software, now called iOS4, which Apple unveiled in April to offer such features as the ability to operate more than one program at a time.
Older iPhones and iPod Touch devices will be able to get iOS4 as a free download June 21, though not all features will work on them.
New applications for the device will include a version of the popular game Farmville and one from Netflix that lets people watch streaming video where they left off on their TV.
Apple is trying to tighten the links between the iPhone and its iPad tablet, which came out April 3.
It is releasing a version of its iBooks e-reading application for the iPhone, which means people could buy an e-book from Apple on either device and read it on either one as well.
Michael Gartenberg, a partner at analyst firm Altimeter Group, said the iPhone upgrade puts pressure on smart-phone makers that use Google's Android operating software.
Android, which was first released on a phone in 2008, has been gaining popularity as major phone makers such have Motorola Inc. have relied on the software for iPhone rivals such as the Droid.
"I think Apple knows how to teach people about things they don't yet know they want," he said.
Meanwhile Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs was thwarted Monday in his attempt to show off how clearly the newest iPhone displays Web pages, apparently because too many people were clogging the airwaves at the conference where he was on stage.
Jobs tried three times during his keynote to do a side-by-side comparison of the iPhone 4's screen resolution versus its predecessor's.
He was trying to call up The New York Times' Web page, but it wouldn't load because too many devices in the room were operating over Wi-Fi, swamping the frequency.
Jobs switched to backup phones for the demonstration, but he was still stymied.
"Well jeez, I don't like this," Jobs groused.
He abandoned the demo while staffers investigated.
Technological glitches at technology conferences are common, but less so at Apple's carefully choreographed events.
Last month at a demonstration of Google Inc.'s Internet television technology, Google representatives had trouble showing how easy it was supposed to be to switch back and forth between browsing Web content and TV programming.
Google pleaded with attendees to shut off their wireless connections, as did Jobs on Monday. He asked bloggers and other people in the room to turn off their wireless connections and put their computers on the floor.
"I think bloggers have a right to blog, but if we want to see the demos we're going to have to do it," he said.
The demos immediately after that went smoothly.
But a later demo of a video-calling feature that requires a wireless Internet connection was sluggish at times. - AP
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/8/business/20100608072800&sec=business
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