Saturday 10 September 2011

NTT DOCOMO to Invest in Vietnam’s VMG Media JSC | Press Center | NTT DOCOMO Global

TOKYO, JAPAN, August 10, 2011 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has acquired an approximately 25% stake in Vietnam’s largest mobile content provider, VMG Media Joint Stock Company (VMG), which owns a market share of roughly 25% in the country. The stock purchase, worth approximately 370 billion Vietnam Dong or about 1.4 billion Japanese yen*1, represents NTT DOCOMO’s first investment in Vietnam.

VMG offers both content and content platforms. With its investment, DOCOMO will share its expertise and know-how with VMG, such as in content distribution, with the aim of boosting VMG’s business and expanding DOCOMO’s value-added services in Asia-Pacific.

DOCOMO will also work together with VMG’s largest stakeholder, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), the country’s largest telecom operator, which holds about 29% stake in the company, to promote VMG’s business.

Friday 9 September 2011

Vodafone Fiji : International Money Transfer through M-PAiSA

Vodafone Fiji, International Money Transfer through M-PAiSA

The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday launched Vodafone’s International Money Transfer service through M-PAiSA. This new and innovative service is a first for Fiji and is a natural progression in the value chain for M-PAiSA. M-PAiSA was launched in 2010 by Prime Minster Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama with person to person money transfer service and mobile recharge options via mobile phones. It now offers a suite of payment options such as water and electricity bill payment and other customer to business and business to customer payment. Government through the judicial department has also adopted the M-PAiSA channel to make child maintenance payments and also to receive traffic and criminal fines.

International Money Transfer service is the newest addition to the growing suite of local and international payment services now available through M-PAiSA.

“M-PAiSA and mobile phones based financial services are revolutionary concepts which may well be recognized as one of the great innovations of its time. The launch of M-PAiSA just over a year ago was most timely with the market yearning for practical ideas to facilitate access to financial services to a large section of the un-banked population, Mr Khaiyum said.

Mobile phone based financial services offers the convenience that is not available in any other consumer channel. In developing countries like Fiji with our geographic dispersion, the mobile handset provides the unbanked segment of the population the potential to access most types of financial services; transactional and informational at the touch of a button and at a fraction of cost.

The mobile phone technology has redefined space and time; information and funds can move from around the globe at almost the speed of light. With this first phase of IMT launch between M-PAiSA and Lotus Foreign Exchange, senders from Australia and New Zealand will be now be able to send money directly onto your mobile phones in a fraction of time.

Mr Khaiyum assured the public that the Reserve Bank of Fiji has only approved the IMT services through M-PAiSA after a comprehensive test which included the system’s reliability and governance, audit trail, consumer protection, settlement risk, KYC requirements, service level agreements, dispute resolution procedures, remitting model, and business continuity plans among other evaluation criteria.

I am glad to report that the above criteria have been fully met. Therefore, the public can be confident that the product being launched today is not only technologically sound and secure, but has a legal framework under the RBF Act. This being a cross border remittances service involving the movement of foreign currency, the approval has been issued under the RBF Act which empowers the Central Bank to grant specific permission to any person to transact foreign exchange business subject to conditions the Central Bank may impose.

By 2012, the global remittance market would be worth US$ 502 billion. Of these, remittances sent home by migrants from developing countries will constitute 80% of the total remittances. The Fijian Diaspora remitted FJD $ 294 million back to Fiji last year through the formal channels such us commercial banks and authorized international money transfer entities.

The Launch of IMT through M-PAiSA will also benefit assist members of our community who rely on remittances as their major source of livelihood. This will certainly benefit members of our community, serving in peace keeping mission who send money home regularly and also the many sports players who also send money home on a regular basis.

Thursday 8 September 2011

DOCOMO to Offer New Flat-rate and Two-tiered Billing Plans for LTE | Press Center | NTT DOCOMO Global

TOKYO, JAPAN, September 8, 2011 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that in conjunction with the launch of two tablets for its extra-high-speed next-generation LTE service, Xi™ (read “Crossy”), new billing plans will be introduced from the beginning of October, including a simple, worry-free flat-rate plan suited to heavy data users and a new two-tiered plan that allows moderate data users to pay as they go up to a set limit. Both plans will be available either with or without two-year contracts.

DOCOMO to Unveil First Tablets for LTE Service | Press Center | NTT DOCOMO Global

TOKYO, JAPAN, September 8, 2011 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today the unveiling of the first tablets compatible with its extra-high-speed next-generation LTE service, Xi™ (read “Crossy”). The “docomo Tablet GALAXY Tab 10.1 LTE SC-01D” will go on sale in Japan in the beginning of October and the “docomo Tablet ARROWS Tab LTE F-01D” in the middle of October.

Both tablets feature large 10.1-inch displays and are powered by dual core CPUs running on Android™ 3.2. The light, thin and fast docomo Tablet GALAXY Tab 10.1 LTE SC-01D is DOCOMO’s LTE-optimized version of the GALAXY Tab 10.1, the latest large-screen tablet in the globally popular GALAXY series. Customized for DOCOMO services such as sp-mode™, docomo market and Area Mail™, the device offers excellent operability and mobility. Its 8.6mm body weighs just 565g and it comes with a high-capacity 7,000 mAh battery.

The docomo Tablet ARROWS Tab LTE F-01D, the first Android-based tablet manufactured by Fujitsu Limited, also boasts a thin, lightweight body, measuring 11.3mm thick and weighing just 597g. Its IPX5/IPX7 waterproof design enables users to enjoy video and one-seg mobile TV even while relaxing in the bathtub*. Highly convenient “Hand Gesture Control” enables operations to be performed with simple hand gestures without touching the device — perfect for checking recipes or performing other tasks while the user’s hands are wet or messy.

In conjunction with the launch of these inaugural Xi-compatible tablets, DOCOMO will offer four new broadband applications, including the popular Hulu and Qik Video services, which are specially suited to Xi’s high-spec mobile video/TV, communications and online gaming capabilities.

In addition, DOCOMO will partially reorganize its device lineup by establishing a separate series for tablets, called “docomo Tablet,” in recognition of the growing number of tablets in the market and the differences in usage and needs compared to smartphones. Going forward, DOCOMO will work closely with content providers to steadily expand the range and attractiveness of docomo Tablet content for enhanced user experiences.

Optus gives customers greater control of their mobile spend at home and overseas

Optus today announced the launch of a number of new tools to help customers better manage their monthly mobile spend.

From today, Optus postpaid mobile customers who download data on their handset when they’re overseas will be notified, within approximately one hour of first usage, that they are being charged for data roaming. The new Optus roaming alert prompts customers to disable or stop using data roaming on their device to avoid further charges.

For those customers who choose to keep using data roaming, Optus will notify the customer every 15MB of usage as a further measure to help customers keep control of their spend.

Gavin Williams, Marketing Director, Optus Consumer said, “This new alert system will notify customers when they use data roaming and make them aware of how much it is costing them if they choose not to turn it off. We believe it will lead to fewer customers coming home to unexpectedly high mobile bills or at least make customers more aware of how much it will cost them if they do choose to use data roaming.”

Closer to home, customers on Optus’ consumer cap plans will soon start receiving text alerts if they exceed 80 per cent of the voice or data component of their monthly postpaid mobile plan.

Over the coming months, Optus customers on current postpaid plans will receive a text message alerting them if they exceed 80 per cent of the included value in their mobile plan. The new alert system will apply to the voice and text as well as the data component of a customer’s mobile plan, whichever is reached first.

Optus will also send postpaid mobile customers an alert if they spend $20 or more on services which aren’t included in their cap, such as international calls or premium SMS.

“While Optus currently provides mobile customers with the ability to monitor usage themselves, these new proactive alert systems will make it even easier for customers to keep an eye on their monthly spend. By alerting customers throughout the month to charges they may incur outside their mobile plan, we hope to provide customers with a greater level of visibility and control of their mobile bill.

“These initiatives are the first of a number of measures we will be introducing over the coming months to help customers get even more from their mobile service. Simpler plans and improved data roaming rates for popular destinations are just some of the measures we are looking at to provide Optus customers with a better experience,” Mr Williams said.

DiGi announces share split and capital management initiatives

SHAH ALAM, 8 SEPTEMBER 2011: In a move to improve the trading liquidity of its shares in the market, DiGi.Com Berhad (DiGi.Com) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a 1-for-10 share split, which will result in a proportional increase in the number of DiGi shares in circulation from the current 777.5 million shares to 7.775 billion shares.

Concurrently, DiGi.Com also announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (DiGiTel) is proposing to undertake a capital management initiative whereby DiGiTel will undertake a capital distribution of approximately RM509 million to DiGi.Com.

The proposed capital distribution entails the issuance of redeemable preference shares from DiGiTel to DiGi.Com which upon redemption will result in a cash payment of approximately RM509 million to DiGi.Com.

DiGi.Com intends to distribute the excess proceeds from the capital distribution to all its shareholders by first half of 2012.

Henrik Clausen, Chief Executive Officer explained, "Today's announcements mark another important milestone in the Company's capital management roadmap. The proposed share split would keep the trading range of DiGi shares better aligned with our peers. It would also make DiGi shares more affordable and accessible to a wider reach of investors."

"These initiatives also reflects the Board's and Management's continuing confidence in the Company's business fundamentals and ability to deliver solid earnings and cash-flow going forward", added Clausen.

Vodafone Fiji & ANZ Bank Signs on as M-PAiSA Agents

Vodafone Fiji & ANZ Bank Signs on as M-PAiSA Agents

Vodafone Fiji Limited signed an agreement yesterday allowing its customers access to any one of ANZ’s 16 branches as M-PAiSA agents. The CEO of ANZ Fiji, Mr Norman Wilson said, “With ANZ’s extensive bank branch network in Fiji, customers will be able to easily and conveniently access the Vodafone M-PAiSA service in a safe and secure environment.”

With more M-PAiSA agencies across the country, customers now have better access to the service, making it more cost effective and efficient, particularly for those in rural areas.

Over 380,000 Vodafone customers have registered with M-PAISA. A significant number of these customers are from the rural areas. Innovative financial service such as M-PAiSA offers a great opportunity to ANZ to reach out to its rural banking customers with greater ease. M-PAiSA, services was officially launched by the Prime Minister of Fiji Commodore Frank Bainimarama in June this year. It is a mobile phone based money transfer that allows registered users to send and receive money directly on through their mobile phones and also be able to make a range of C2B and B2C payment such bill payment services, wages and salary payments and other business payments. Effectively, your mobile phone is now a mobile wallet that stores money in electronic form to be able to make and receive a wide of payments.
Vodafone's Chief Operating Officer, Pradeep Lal says they are pleased to have ANZ on board as M-PAiSA Agents. The service will complement ANZ’s rural banking business with greater reach and accessibility. Vodafone is expected to announce another payment option through M-PAiSA tomorrow that will make international remittances more convenient and accessible through your mobile phone.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Tata launched network-agnostic Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection

Mumbai, India, 7 September, 2011 - Tata Communications, a leading provider of a new world of communications, today launches its network-agnostic Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection, globally. Delivered over a cloud-based infrastructure, Tata Communications' DDoS Detection and Mitigation services will now be available to any enterprise that depends on its internet availability to serve customers, suppliers, partners and other stake-holders – regardless of which service provider supplies it with internet connectivity.

DDoS attacks are caused by thousands of globally distributed internet-based 'bots'* flooding target websites with such a high volume of traffic that genuine users can no longer visit. They can affect any organisation that has an online presence. These increasingly frequent attacks can be driven by crime, malice, espionage or even national security issues and typically, prevents organisations from conducting business over the Internet.

The DDoS solution from Tata Communications constantly monitors traffic patterns across a network, detects attacks against a customer's internet-facing infrastructure and then 'scrubs' the data, discarding attack traffic while ensuring that legitimate traffic can reach the intended infrastructure. This allows the customer's business to stay online and fully operational throughout an attack.

"Tata Communications operates the largest DDoS scrubbing infrastructure built into any carrier's backbone. We are also one of the largest ISPs in the world," says Adam Rice, Chief Security Officer and Vice President of Managed Security Services, Tata Communications. "With this scale, we have successfully defended every DDoS attack levied against our customers. By expanding our offering to be network agnostic, we’re now making the capability available to a much larger community - a community that requires access to a high-capacity infrastructure where their traffic can be scrubbed rather than black-holed."

As one of the largest global internet service providers Tata Communications is always able to route customer traffic through regional DDoS scrubbing centers. For customers facing extreme circumstances, Tata Communications' service can – and has been – activated in less than 24 hours. It fends off DDoS attacks on corporate infrastructure so effectively that visitors to the affected sites do not even notice a difference in response from the web site and applications.

"We are delighted that Tata Communications has leveraged the Arbor Networks infrastructure to offer a network agnostic option for DDoS protection," says Colin Doherty, President, Arbor Networks. "With DDoS attacks being such a real threat to businesses and countries around the world, all efforts to expand the number of anti-DDoS solutions available are extremely welcome."

Vimpelcom Q2 2011 and Beeline Vietnam

Vimpelcom's 3 Asian operations added over 600,000 new mobile subscriber in the period April 2011 to June 2011.

Confusion still reins around subscriber numbers for the Vietnamese market, the operator reported a total of 639,000 subscribers which is miles away from the previous published data point of 2.1 million subscribers for December 2009 (Q4 2009). This latest number is more likely a truer reflection of active subscribers in a market where people carry multiple pre-pay SIMs across several networks. This matches the Blycroft Asia Pacific Handbook's downward quarterly estimates of the market, which saw the operation shed na estimated 100,000 users going from Q4 into Q1 this year.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

SMBs wipe their worries with Optus OfficeApps Mobile Security

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) can better safeguard their mobile data from theft and viruses with today’s launch of Optus OfficeApps Mobile Security. As the newest addition to the OfficeApps cloud portfolio, the service gives business owners and their staff the power to protect important personal and business data stored on mobile devices.

With OfficeApps Mobile Security, SMBs have the ability to lock, wipe and reset the password of any device within their business from the OfficeApps portal or from another mobile phone. Data held on any device is also protected by anti-virus software. The service is underpinned by Optus OfficeApps support to help customers get up and running quickly and provide ongoing technical assistance

With increasing numbers of small businesses investing in smartphones and tablets and with over 500 different malware variants currently in existence, the need to protect business data has become ever more vital. According to research conducted by Jones Donald Strategy Partners, 50 per cent of Australian SMBs currently use smartphones and nine per cent use tablets within their business. Furthermore, 49 per cent of SMBs are planning to buy smart phones and 29 per cent tablets in the next 12 months1.

Rohan Ganeson, Managing Director, Optus SMB said, “OfficeApps Mobile Security addresses the concerns many SMBs have about protecting confidential information on mobile devices. As the amount of information shared between smartphones and tablets within a small business increases, the security of these devices becomes paramount. Optus has developed OfficeApps Mobile Security to directly mitigate these concerns.

“SMBs now have access to many powerful and user-friendly security tools already being used by bigger businesses, but at a lower cost and without the hassle of IT set-up and maintenance.”

Telekom Malaysia continues overhaul of legacy OSS with deployment of Clarity’s Network Inventory System

Sydney, Australia; 6 September 2011 – Clarity, the award-winning provider of unified solutions designed to simplify the operations of communication service providers, today announced the successful completion of its Network Inventory System (NIS) project for Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), Malaysia’s broadband champion and leading integrated information and communications group.

In 2006, TM initiated a major OSS transformation to support the rapid growth of their broadband services, to maintain competitiveness with agile new entrants to the Malaysian market and to enable the rapid and accurate deployment of new services to their customers. Clarity’s unified OSS (inventory module) continues to be deployed in phases to support these goals. The completion of the NIS is an important milestone and provides TM with a network-wide view of their assets and inventory data across one system.
Clarity’s unified OSS solution already manages TM’s logical and physical network infrastructure. The OSS has centralised TM’s engineering workflow processes and provisioning for IP, telephony, broadband and narrowband services, allowing TM to plan for and monitor maintenance activities and outages and to ensure end-to-end integrated workflow between order management and inventory. To date, Clarity’s OSS has replaced over 12 legacy inventory databases that were migrated in 36 months and currently interfaces with more than 22 customer management and provisioning systems. Exposing the single NIS into the strategic service-oriented architecture will further reduce the cost and lead-time for integration of new systems and the time-to-market for new services.

Monday 5 September 2011

Telecom’s Auckland Retail Outbound Customer Care team win at CRM Contact Centre Awards

Telecom’s Auckland-based Retail Outbound Customer Care team won first place for outbound business-to-business calling in New Zealand, at the CRM Contact Centre Awards held on Friday 2 September.

The annual CRM Awards recognise excellence in standards of customer service across the contact centre industry. This year, Telecom’s outbound call centre was measured against companies across 16 industries, including telecommunications.

This is the sixth year in a row that Telecom’s outbound customer service has been recognised at the CRM Awards.

At Friday’s event, Telecom’s Retail Outbound Customer Care team was also awarded second place for outbound business to consumer calling, while Telecom’s Cherie Brown, was selected as one of six ‘favourite customer service representatives’ as voted by the CRM judges.