LightSquared files for bankruptcy protection
US wholesale player LightSquared has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid efforts to resolve regulatory issues that have prevented it from launching its satellite service.
Operators in the US are preparing to launch shared data plans, allowing multiple devices owned by an individual or members of a family to draw data from a single monthly allotment. The move is one of the first examples of innovation in data pricing, as operators struggle to reap dividends from an increase in consumer data usage.
Deutsche Telecom’s US mobile operation, T-Mobile USA, is to cut a further 900 jobs, following the unit’s failed $39bn purchase by AT&T late last year. The latest cuts come on top of around 1,900 job losses announced earlier this year.
US wholesale player LightSquared has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid efforts to resolve regulatory issues that have prevented it from launching its satellite service.
Deutsche Telekom’s results for the first quarter of the year show that the operator group has seen more than a 50 per cent decline in net profit and a 1.1 per cent reduction in revenue. Net profit fell from €480m to €238m, year-on-year for the first quarter of 2012, while revenue fell to €14.4bn. Adjusted net profit fell 17 per cent year-on-year to €581m.
America Movil’s intention to take over a 28 per cent stake in Dutch operator KPN is an indication of two important developments in the changing global telecoms sector. While some European operators are still expanding internationally, the balance of power in the global market is shifting away from old European players to emerging telecoms giants. At the same time, new global players from the emerging markets are looking to diversify their presence with the main objective of bringing in the know-how and experience of operators from the mature markets.
Latin-American operator group America Movil has tendered a bid to take its stake in Dutch fixed-line and mobile operator KPN from 4.8 per cent to 28 per cent, as it aims to expand its geographic reach. The firm, bankrolled by billionaire Carlos Slim, is currently the third largest operator group in the world, in terms of subscriptions, according to Informa’s World Cellular Information Service (WCIS).
The chief executive officer of Brazilian carrier TIM Participações – part of the Telecom Italia group – has stepped down effective immediately. Luca Luciani will be replaced by TIM’s group chief financial officer Andrea Mangoni in the short term.
Cisco has confirmed that it is planning to acquire privately-held Californian firm Truviso, a provider of network data analysis and reporting software, for an undisclosed amount. Truviso’s continuous query technology, with its analyse-first, store-later capability, is expected to enable Cisco to provide instant access and visibility into network use and services, help increase operational efficiencies [...]
US operators AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have created mobile wallet joint venture Isis, which is set to launch in the summer of 2012 in Austin, Texas and the Utah state capital, Salt Lake City. Jaymee Johnson, head of marketing for Isis, provides an overview of the group’s activities.
Countries in Europe enjoy the fastest average broadband connectivity globally, according to a report from global content delivery network Akamai. Details of the report, which is scheduled to appear later this week and revealed by GigaOm, defines a high-speed broadband connection as one that connected to the Akamai network in excess of 5Mbps.