“Power of Two” - 2degrees and LG launch world’s first ‘Dual-Core’ Smartphone in New Zealand

“Power of Two” - 2degrees and LG launch world’s first ‘Dual-Core’ Smartphone in New Zealand

2degrees Mobile today launched its fastest and most powerful smartphone yet – the much anticipated LG Optimus 2X. Featuring powerful ‘Dual-Core’ technology, the new top-of-the-line device powered by Android™ is the first of its kind to be made available to New Zealanders.

Chief Marketing Officer says, Dual-Core technology enables customers to enjoy twice the power of a regular handset because it’s specifically designed to process high definition photos and video as well as multi-tasking.

Cost of standard data roaming rates in Australia cut in half

Cost of standard data roaming rates in Australia cut in half

2degrees are delighted to announce that they have halved the cost of using mobile data while in Australia.

They have dropped trans-Tasman data roaming rates for customers travelling to Australia to 50% of competitors’ rates. 2degrees pre-pay and pay monthly customers now pay the reduced casual user rate of $2.50 per MB.

2degrees has also dropped its trans-Tasman calling costs to 44c a minute, so pre-pay and pay monthly customers will now be able to phone home from Australia at the same rate as a standard national 2degrees prepay call.

2degrees has been able to negotiate a better roaming agreement, and is immediately passing the savings on to its customers.

DOCOMO to Develop New Services by Working with Twitter

DOCOMO to Develop New Services by Working with Twitter

NTT DOCOMO, INC. today announced that it has reached an agreement with Twitter, Inc. under which DOCOMO will leverage its mobile expertise, with support from Twitter, to develop innovative applications and services incorporating Twitter™ features for DOCOMO feature phones and smartphones.

One of the envisioned services will bring richer search results to DOCOMO customers. Real-time Tweets™ and other Twitter content will be added to the search results on the DOCOMO “i-mode” portal for feature phones and the “docomo market” portal for smartphones. DOCOMO expects to launch the service for feature phones this summer and for smartphones later this year or early next year.

DOCOMO Agrees to Purchase Additional Shares in PLDT

DOCOMO Agrees to Purchase Additional Shares in PLDT

NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has signed an option agreement with JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JG SUMMIT) to trade about 2% of the total issued and outstanding shares of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), worth an estimated about 263 million U.S. dollars or about 21.6 billion Japanese yen as of April 28, 2011.

Airtel partners with Bank of Ceylon and BOC Paymate to launch MCommerce solution in Sri Lanka

Airtel partners with Bank of Ceylon and BOC Paymate to launch MCommerce solution in Sri Lanka

Bharti Airtel Lanka together with Bank of Ceylon and Ceylon’s mobile payment facility, BOC Paymate, India’s leading mobile payments company, today announced the launch of the MCommerce solution to all Airtel subscribers in Sri Lanka. These services are available to all customers of Airtel, enabling them to make instant payments of phone and utility bills, account balance inquiries, mini statements, fund transfers and also, instant post paid account bill payment and pre paid recharge connections, using their BOC account.

Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe, Chairman, Bank of Ceylon stated, “With the changing lifestyles ushered in by the mobile phone over the last few years, a significant opportunity to combine banking and mobile services has arisen. The mobile phone is increasingly becoming the one-stop-shop for customers and a simple and secure service like the BOC Paymate Solution offered over Airtel, provides unparalleled convenience to all our customers”.

Ajay Adiseshann, MD and Founder, PayMate said, “PayMate along with our local partners, Fortuna Global, are excited to bring the first SMS based mobile payment service in a country where mobile penetration is growing rapidly. The potential is enormous considering Airtel is Sri Lanka's fastest growing Mobile Network and Bank of Ceylon is Sri Lanka's largest bank. PayMate's edge over any other m-payment platform lies not only its convenient, anytime-anywhere utility but also in its incredible simplicity”.

SingTel Group’s mobile customer base crosses the 400 million mark

SingTel Group’s mobile customer base crosses the 400 million mark

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced that the Group has achieved a new milestone by surpassing the 400 million mobile customer mark. The Group served 403 million mobile customers in 25 countries as at 31 March 2011, an increase of 37 per cent or 110 million from a year ago.

Optus heads 'fleet first' into new fixed and mobile plans for SMBs

Optus heads 'fleet first' into new fixed and mobile plans for SMBs

Optus has introduced new mobile and fixed telephony plans to deliver more value and flexibility for small and medium businesses (SMB) with more than 20 employees. With the new Optus One Office (fixed) and Business Timeless Fleet (mobile) plans, SMB customers can make unlimited standard national calls from their office and mobile phones to any Australian fixed line and Australian GSM mobile, providing more cost certainty with their monthly communications spend.

Phil Offer, Marketing Director of Optus Small and Medium Business, said “Increasingly SMBs want the same benefits with fixed phone plans that they take for granted on mobile plans. With unlimited calls, our new Optus One Office plan is a game changer in the SMB market as fixed telephony plans are typically still charged on a pay-for-what-you-use basis."

Research (commissioned by Optus and conducted by Jones Donald Strategy Partners surveying more than 400 small and medium businesses across Australia (March 2011)) shows that 69 per cent of SMBs currently use mobile broadband, while a further 36 per cent plan to purchase mobile broadband services over the next 12 months.

Optus partners with FetchTV to develop multi-device IPTV service

Optus partners with FetchTV to develop multi-device IPTV service

Optus today announced that it is partnering with FetchTV to jointly develop an IPTV service with integrated mobile functionality for smartphones and tablet devices.

The service is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2011 and is part of Optus’ broader TV strategy to develop a suite of converged video services, delivering choice and control for customers whether they’re at home or on the move.

Austin R. Bryan, Director, Optus Digital Media said, “The way people view and engage with video content is changing rapidly. Optus wants to be at the forefront of this change which is why we’re partnering with FetchTV to develop a unique TV offering across multiple devices. With its strong content line-up and innovative delivery platform, we believe FetchTV is the best partner to help us develop a service which will provide customers with a fantastic user experience.”

Scott Lorson, CEO, FetchTV said, “FetchTV has spent the past three years developing advanced IPTV capabilities and a compelling catalogue of content. Partnering with an operator of Optus’ scale, brand and reputation is a significant milestone for FetchTV and we look forward to working with Optus to launch a unique and compelling entertainment service.”