March 2011 Hong Kong Spectrum Auction: Too little, too late at too high a price

March 2011 Hong Kong Spectrum Auction: Too little, too late at too high a price

CSL’s participated in the March 2011 spectrum auction in an opportunistic way, knowing that it would retain its leadership given the significant amounts of spectrum it already owned no matter what the outcome of the auction could be. CSL withdrew from the auction when it was clear that bids were destroying value.

Tarek Robbiati, Group Managing Director of Telstra International Group and Chairman of CSL said “In this industry the investment required for fourth generation LTE networks includes spectrum and network capital expenditure. At these price levels paid for spectrum, something has got to give: the pyrrhic winners of the March 2011 auction will have to compromise on their LTE network investment or run the risk to destroy value for their shareholders”.

SmarTone-Vodafone bids successfully for 850 MHz spectrum

SmarTone-Vodafone bids successfully for 850 MHz spectrum

SmarTone-Vodafone today announced that it has bid successfully at the auction in Hong Kong for 2 x 5 MHz at the 850 MHz frequency band for HK$875 million. This spectrum will be put quickly to use in increasing network capacity and enabling higher speeds for its HSPA+ network.

The new spectrum provides SmarTone-Vodafone the most cost-effective and the quickest way to expand its network capacity. At the 850 MHz frequency band, the lowest frequencies available to mobile operators in Hong Kong, SmarTone-Vodafone will be able to provide even better in-building radio coverage to its customers.

CSL Maintains Leadership in Increasingly Valuable Radio Spectrum

CSL Maintains Leadership in Increasingly Valuable Radio Spectrum

Following the Auction of Radio Spectrum held by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, CSL Limited (CSL) has maintained its significant market leadership. The company now has 127.6 MHz of radio spectrum in Hong Kong, 28 percent more than any other mobile operator. Radio spectrum is a critical factor in network capacity and customer experience, at a time when mobile data usage is increasing at a dramatic rate every month.

“The spectrum auction result validates CSL strategy initiated in 2007 to lead the Hong Kong market in building network capacity in advance of customer need, buying large blocks of contiguous spectrum, and being the first to deliver both an All-IP network and the an LTE network in Hong Kong,” said Joseph O’Konek, CEO of CSL Limited. “Following today’s result, CSL has 28 percent more radio spectrum than any other mobile operator in Hong Kong. Our focus is now on maximizing customer experience on the fastest mobile broadband network in Asia Pacific, while our competitors are facing the challenges of providing a return on their spectrum investments, complex network integrations and new technology rollouts -- challenges that are already behind us.”

StarHub's peace-of-mind data-roaming

Don't worry, roam happy when you travel the world with StarHub's peace-of-mind data-roaming offerings

StarHub today announced that it has launched Roam Manager – a Singapore's first set of tools that provides mobile roaming customers with pertinent roaming related information and data usage cost notification feature, further enhancing customers' peace-of-mind data roaming in more than 220 destinations around the world.

Said Ms Joanna Chan, StarHub's Vice President of Personal Solutions: 'StarHub knows that the mobile Internet on the smartphone is indispensable to customers, even when they are out of Singapore. That's why we want to take away the fear of incurring international data cost unknowingly by offering four new affordable roaming data plans, daily unlimited surfing plan, and Roam Manager that provides roaming related information and data usage cost notifications at customers' fingertips. With StarHub's comprehensive roaming solutions, our customers will be able keep in touch with their friends and families while overseas and also be aware of their roaming usage and avoid incurring unexpected mobile roaming charges.'

SingTel Group prices US$600 million 10.5-year notes at 4.5%

SingTel Group prices US$600 million 10.5-year notes at 4.5%

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, SingTel Group Treasury Pte. Ltd. (SGT), priced US$600 million of 10.5-year notes on 1 March 2011, guaranteed by SingTel.

The note issue met with strong response from a wide range of high quality investors. The order book closed after registering approximately US$1.8 billion of interest and was oversubscribed by more than three times.

The US-denominated notes will carry an annual coupon of 4.5 per cent per annum and is drawn down under SGT’s S$10 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme (Programme). The notes will mature in 2021.

This issue forms part of the long-term financing strategy and extends the debt maturity profile of SingTel and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as SingTel Group). SGT will utilise the funds for general corporate purposes, including repayment of the SingTel Group’s maturing debts.

Ms Jeann Low, SingTel Group Chief Financial Officer, said: “We are pleased to have received very strong support from investors and that shows confidence in the SingTel Group’s credit quality which is among the highest in our industry.”

British Council and Kcell have launched the mobile service for learning English

British Council and Kcell have launched the mobile service for learning English

Almaty – Today the British Council and GSM Kazakhstan/Kcell have made a presentation of the mobile service “Phrase of the day”, with the use of which all subscribers of Kcell will be able to learn English through SMS, using the materials of the British Council.

By subscribing to the service, the users will receive each day within the entire week a new word in the English language, including its translation into Russian and Kazakh, and the phrase, based on which the use of a new word will be demonstrated. At the end of the week the users will receive the fault detection test in respect of usage of new words. Each subscriber will be able to select the appropriate level: elementary, intermediate or advanced.

“It is a great honor for the British Council in cooperation with GSM Kazakhstan/Kcell to launch the mobile service to study English to contribute to realization of the policy of trilingualism in Kazakhstan. The English language takes on enormous significance as the facility of the cross-cultural communication, and we are glad to enable inhabitants of Kazakhstan to study English, using the materials, being developed by the British Council, as well as mobile technologies, provided by Kcell”, noted Lina Miloshevich, Director of the British Council in Kazakhstan.

The mobile service “Phrase of the day” represents one of products of the British Council to learn English, being developed for mobile phones and smart phones, aiming at giving access to users all over the world to educational resources of the British Council.

“We are glad that we became a partner of such an interesting innovation project. The SMS service is mostly favored by our subscribers, and we are hopeful that our customers will be pleased by the simplicity and convenience of the new service. Currently, a good few of the inhabitants of Kazakhstan enter the subscriber base of our Company. For this reason we are confident that the “Phrase of the day” will contribute to active learning of the English language by Kazakhstani people”, informed Aida Dossayeva, Director for Corporate Communications of GSM Kazakhstan/Kcell.

One can subscribe to the service “Phrase of the day” by sending a message with the word easy, medium or hard (depending of the desired level of complexity) to number *150#. Afterwards, a subscriber will start to receive messages once a day. Each message will include a phrase or a word in three languages for studying. At the end of the week a subscriber will receive a message to test the achievement. The cost of the received message will amount to 7 Tenge.

Axiata’s Group CEO’s Contract Continued to see through Group’s Regional Aspirations

Axiata’s Group CEO’s Contract Continued to see through Group’s Regional Aspirations

Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”) today announced that the Group has renewed President and Group CEO, Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim’s contract for another three years. Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim has been CEO since 2008, at the point of Axiata’s, then TMI, demerger from TM and has been instrumental in steering the group through difficult macro-economic conditions as well as hyper competition. Under his stewardship, Axiata has seen revenue grow by about 40%1 and profits almost quadrupling2. Similarly, the Group’s cash position has almost doubled to RM6.3 billion, in just two years. By the end of 2010, Axiata’s total subscriber base expanded to 160 million, up 80% from 2008, making the Group one of the largest telcos in the region. The Group also recently announced its maiden dividend of 10 sen per share (single tier), a 32% payout.

PCCW announces completion of Reach joint-venture alignment

PCCW announces completion of Reach joint-venture alignment

PCCW announces that the restructuring of Reach Ltd, as set forth in its January 25, 2011 announcement, has been completed. Reach is a 50/50 joint venture between PCCW and Telstra Corporation Ltd.

The restructuring has resulted in a clear division of the majority of Reach's operations to more closely align with the business objectives of Reach's shareholders as well as to more efficiently and effectively serve their respective customers.

The restructuring does not affect the Company's 2010 final results.

PCCW Global, a subsidiary of PCCW, will benefit from the restructuring of Reach through increased efficiencies which are expected to contribute towards an enhanced competitive position in the market for international connectivity services. The restructure will include direct ownership of fibers on the RNAL system, better access and more Points of Presence for transmission, and additional teleport and satellite coverage for a variety of applications. The restructure will add capabilities to PCCW Global's extensive global voice network and IPv6-enabled data network.

TELKOM Introduce Interactive Television IPTV

TELKOM Introduce Interactive Television IPTV

Telkom as a quad-play service provider of TIME (Telecommunication, Information, Multimedia and Edutainment), is to launch IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) HDTV as part of Telkom’s efforts to strengthen its multimedia business and to revitalise the cable network simultaneously.

President Director of Telkom, Rinaldi Firmansyah, says Telkom is proud to be a provider of IPTV service. “This future TV we present particularly for the family in Indonesia,” he says."