CLICK HERE TO READ ON YOUR IPHONE/IPAD SPECIAL EDITION BUSINESS ANALYSIS FOR TELECOMS PROFESSIONALS Welcome to 2012 LOOKING AHEAD TO THE COMING YEAR IN TELECOMS Introducing... 2 Day Conference 12 – 13 June 2012, London For more information email [email protected] www.totaltele.com/wireless TIMELINE A round-up of the major stories in telecoms in 2011, as reported in our daily news service Introducing... www.totaltele.com JANUARY-MARCH ALU signals base station end plan in late December; AT&T will also counting the cost as subsea Alcatel-Lucent launched pay a $4 billion break-up fee to networks were severed and the Page takes Google helm lightRadio, a small-scale mobile Deutsche Telekom. threat of component shortages Google co-founder Larry Page base station that uses virtualised loomed. By the end of 2011, many replaced Eric Schmidt as CEO components. Sweden auctions 4G spectrum areas of the industry were still of Google. Schmidt became Sweden raised 2.05 billion feeling the effects of the disaster. executive chairman of the Nokia picks Windows OS kronor (US$324 million) from 2 Day Conference company. Nokia announced plans to use the sale of spectrum suitable Etisalat scraps $12bn Zain buy Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 for 4G services. HI3G Access, Etisalat pulled out of its planned 12 – 13 June 2012, London MNP in India platform as the main operating TeliaSonera and Net4Mobility - a acquisition of a 46% stake in Mobile number portability came system for its smartphone joint venture between Tele2 and Kuwait-based Zain, having made For more information email into force nationwide in India portfolio. The first devices went Telenor - all acquired spectrum an offer worth around $11.7 after repeated delays. on sale in November. in the 800-MHz band. billion in September 2010. The [email protected] UAE incumbent cited the results PT in $5bn Brazil deal Telstra uses 1800 for LTE France Teleocm in Iraq buy of due diligence and political Portugal Telecom inked a deal to At Mobile World Congress 2011 A joint venture between France turmoil in the region among its take a minority stake in Brazil’s Australia’s Telstra shared plans to Telecom and logistics company reasons for backing away. Oi for 8.32 billion reias (US$5 roll out LTE services in its 1800- Agility agreed to plough new billion). Oi has since simplified MHz spectrum. capital into Iraq’s third mobile Clearwire CEO quits its ownership structure and operator Korek Telecom in return Bill Morrow resigned as appointed a new CEO, Francisco AT&T bids for T-Mobile USA for a 44% stake. CEO of Clearwire as the US Valim. AT&T announced it had offered WiMAX operator reshuffled its US$39 billion to acquire rival Tragedy in Japan management. Chief operating iPhone for Verizon T-Mobile USA. Lawsuits from the While Japan struggled to come officer Erik Prusch was appointed After years of speculation Verizon Department of Justice and other to terms with the human cost to the post in August. Wireless revealed it would offer opponents ensued, and the FCC of the tsunami and resulting a CDMA version of the Apple also came out against the deal. floods that hit the country in Voda takes over Indian unit iPhone to its customers. The companies abandoned the March, telecoms companies were Vodafone paid around $5.46 billion to buy out its joint venture Raja arrested in India Spectrum fragmentation by % of LTE connections partner in India. The deal closed India’s former telecoms minister 800/1800 MHz in July. Andimuthu Raja was arrested 2600 MHz 3% 2011 as the Central Bureau of 5% Investigation probed allegations APRIL-JUNE 1700/2100 MHz 8% 16% of corruption in the allocation of 2015 mobile spectrum in 2008 that may Voda sells SFR stake have cost the government billions Vivendi agreed to pay €7.95 13% of dollars in lost revenues. The 2100 MHz 11% billion for Vodafone’s 44% stake 67% investigation was still going on at 11% 700 MHz in SFR, giving it total control of the end of 2011. n 700-900 MHz 6% 10% the French mobile operator. n 1700-1900 MHz 2500 MHz Kleisterlee takes Voda chair n 2100-2600 MHz New Pakistan minister Gerard Kleisterlee, chief Pakistan appointed Zaheeruddin executive of Philips Electronics Source: Wireless Intelligence Babar Awan to the vacant telecom There will be 38 different spectrum frequency combinations used in LTE was named as the successor deployments worldwide by 2015, as ongoing spectrum auctions, licence and IT minister position. renewals and refarming initiatives contribute to fragmentation, according to to John Bond as chairman of Wireless Intelligence. This lack of harmonisation could hurt roaming, since device Vodafone. makers will have to support many disparate frequencies; this means a ‘world’ LTE KPN gets new CEO device is unlikely to emerge in the near future. Eelco Blok took over as chief www.totaltele.com/wireless December 2011/January 2012 www.totaltele.com 3 TIMELINE executive of KPN, replacing billion to roll out fibre-based aims to complete the transition portfolio. The deal included the Ad Scheepbower. Almost broadband to 5 million premises by the end of 2012. transfer of 2,600 staff. immediately the Dutch in rural areas of the UK over the incumbent issued a full-year next 3-5 years. It is working with More phones than people TeliaSonera fibre plan profit warning and said jobs Virgin Media, TalkTalk Telecom The number of fixed and mobile TeliaSonera said it will invest would go in its home market. and Cisco. phone connections worldwide over 8 billion kronor (US$1.3 reached 6.92 billion in May, billion) in fibre networks by Level 3 buys Global Crossing DT and FT form JV according to The Mobile World. 2014. SEK5 billion of the total Level 3 Communications agreed Deutsche Telekom and France The US Census Bureau estimated will be spent in Sweden. to acquire Global Crossing in Telekom created a joint venture the population of the world at an all-stock deal worth around company through which to slightly under 6.92 billion. UK telcos tackle m-commerce $1.9 billion. The deal to combine acquire network equipment. Everything Everywhere, O2 and the two international network The telcos aim to book savings DT ups stake in OTE Vodafone UK created a mobile operators closed in October, of €1.3 billion a year as a result. Deutsche Telekom acquired an payments joint venture, a move when Global Crossing CEO John The venture, known as Buyin, additional 10% stake in Greek that enraged rival player 3, which Legere left the company. launched in October. incumbent OTE for around €400 was left out of the project. But million, raising its holding to by the end of the year the telcos CenturyLink in M&A market Syria ices licence auction 40% plus one share. were in talks to potentially allow US telcos CentryLink and Qwest The sale of a third mobile licence 3 into the venture, codenamed completed their merger deal on 1 in Syria was postponed due to Netherlands net neutrality Project Oscar. April after FCC approval enabled political turmoil in the country. The Dutch government pushed the $22 billion tie-up to go Qatar’s Qtel and Saudi Telecom through a new telecoms law Nigeria cancels telecoms sale ahead. Later that month, Qwest were the only operators still in that forces telcos and ISPs to The latest attempt to privatise announced it would acquire the running for the licence. ensure equal access to all types of Nigerian incumbent Nitel ended cloud services provider Savvis for content on their networks. in failure after both the preferred around $2.5 billion. That deal Microsoft in $8.5bn Skype buy and reserve bidders did not pay closed in July. Microsoft said it would pay $8.5 Apple launches iCloud the initial sums required of them. billion in cash to a Silver Lake- Apple introduced iCloud, a Web- Cisco restructures led investor group for Internet based offer that enable users to Google+ comes to market Cisco moved to refocus on its telephony specialist Skype. store data and content–including Google made a new attempt to core networking equipment Analysts questioned the sum, but music–in the cloud. The move conquer the social networking business, exiting certain noted that Microsoft could reap put it in direct competition with space with the launch of consumer operations, such as the benefits of owning Skype in the likes of Amazon and Google. Google+. The move came video camera Flip. In July the the longer term. just days after the Internet company revealed plans to Telstra, govt in NBN deal giant pulled the plug on its reduce its global workforce by Telefonica Brazil restructure The Australian government PowerMeter and Health services, around 6,500–incurring charges In a move designed to and incumbent Telstra signed citing disappointing uptake. of $1.3 billion–in a bid to reduce consolidate its Brazilian assets agreements worth A$11 billion operating costs by $1 billion in following its 2010 takeover of that will see the telco transfer Ericsson, NBN in TD-LTE deal its next fiscal year Vivo, Telefonica unveiled a new its fixed lines to NBN Co, the Ericsson announced it has won unified structure in Brazil. company set up to roll out the a A$1 billion contract from Israel awards 3G licences country’s nationwide high- Australia’s NBN Co to roll out Mirs Communications and TI happy in LatAm speed broadband network. a TD-LTE networks to provide Xfone 018 secured spectrum for Telecom Italia ruled out further In December Telstra released coverage to rural households.