The sentencing of a former telecom minster last week on bribery charges continues the troubled recent history of India’s telecom agency and sector. Of the nine telecom ministers since 1996, four have faced serious corruption charges.
The number of broadband connections in Brazil reached 53.9 million in October, an increase of 68.4% compared with the same month last year, as the rate of broadband activations to more than one new access every second, Telebrasil reported.
Spanish telecom Telefónica has signed an agreement with China Unicom to use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. The agreement builds on a previous deal and extends and reinforces Telefónica’s footprint by sharing the use of points of presence on their international networks.
India’s GSM operators added 7.12 million new subscribers in the month of October, an increase of 1.15% from the previous month, bringing the country’s GSM subscriber base to 625.41 million.
Although LTE trials are under way in 11 countries, there are currently no commercial launches of LTE anywhere in Latin America.
A recent study of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication (Brasscom) shows what was already known: Brazil lacks skilled workers. The country will need an additional 750,000 IT professionals to keep pace with increasing demand, Brasscom says.
India’s federal investigation agency has registered a case against the country’s two top telecom companies and a former Telecom Secretary for alleged irregularities in the allocation of spectrum during 2001-2003 when the late Pramoj Mahajan was telecom minister.
The telecom sector has the potential to play a tremendous role in bringing about inclusive growth In the country as it marches onwards to become, as predicted by many international organizations, the world’s biggest economic power, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman Dr J S Sarma has said.
The draft National Telecom Policy 2011 needs a clear roadmap specifying timetables and clarifying issues related to spectrum management and pricing, according to industry leaders who spoke at the National Telecom Summit 2011 on Friday.
Nextel’s plan to deploy 3G voice and push-to-talk services in Mexico, which was expected by the first half of 2012, may be in trouble after a Mexican court ordered the Ministry of Communications and Transportation to revoke the mobile concession awarded in October 2010.
Puerto Rico may become a pioneer in LTE networks in the Caribbean, thanks to planned offerings from AT&T and Open Mobile. AT&T has said it will launch its LTE services in six new markets Nov. 20.
Virgin Mobile Latin America has received regulatory approval from Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transportation to provide wireless communications in Mexico as a mobile virtual network operator.
The Estimates Committee of India’s lower house of the Parliament has reprimanded the Department of Telecom for “illegal operations of telecom networks in the country”.
India’s nationally owned and six smallest private telecom companies will continue to suffer operating losses in 2012, according to a report released Thursday by global ratings agency Fitch Ratings.
Carlos Slim’s América Móvil SAB will pay $4.6 billion (or 62.1 billion pesos) to increase its stake in Teléfonos de México SAB from 59.4% to 92.8%, securing control of Telmex.
In the third quarter, Brazilian telecom operator GVT Holding, owned by French entertainment and telecom group Vivendi, saw net revenues rise 38.4% and a 50.1% increase in the number of lines in service in the customer base.
One of the most developed countries in Latin America, Chile faces very similar telecom challenges to Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Its mobile penetration surpassed one device per habitant, reaching 120.8% …
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has cleared a proposal from Unitech Wireless for a rights issue of $1.62 billion amid an ongoing dispute with Telenor Group over the company’s Uninor joint venture.
India’s present 3G roaming provisions have far-reaching security implications, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Leading professional networking website LinkedIn has opened a research and development unit in Bangalore, the first center of its kind outside its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
Private equity firm Aditya Birla Capital Advisors has invested U.S. $18.7 million in Alphion India Private Ltd., the principal subsidiary of Alphion Corp, a global provider of optical networks.
Investment in Venezuela’s telecommunications industry increased 21.7% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, reaching U.S. $220 million, said Conatel, the country’s telecom agency. However, the number of mobile subscribers dropped 3.2% from a year ago.
Ecuador has unveiled its national digital strategy, with the goal of having Internet access in place for half of the country’s households by 2015, up from a current level of 29%.
Idea Cellular is expecting a huge surge in the usage of 3G services in India and plans to launch its own branded smartphones.
Laboring under a debt load of nearly $7 billion, Reliance Communications, one of the leading telecom operators in India, is in the midst of exclusive negotiations with a consortium of private equity players, including Blackstone and Carlyle, to sell its tower unit, according to media reports in India.
