The GSMA has announced the formation of a task force of mobile operators to explore the development of an embedded SIM that can be remotely activated. The move is expected to enable the design of exciting new form factors for mobile communications. It will also speed the development of M2M services by making it easier to bring mobile broadband to non-traditional devices such as cameras, MP3 players, navigation devices and e-Readers, as well as smart meters...

Cloud computing looks set to top Asia’s agenda for the next ten years, if the opinions of key executives from China Unicom and Korea Telecom are anything to go by...

Market research outlining Azerbaijan's telecommunications sector indicates that the country’s economic dynamism is driving growth...

The GSMA has announced that it is launching the Mobile Energy Efficiency Network Benchmarking Service, an initiative that will provide a benchmark measurement of network energy efficiency, and will help mobile network operators lower their energy costs and carbon footprint. With this information, it is now possible to identify the scale of potential efficiency gains and develop programmes to achieve these savings...

The number of LTE connections in Asia Pacific will exceed 120 million by 2015, according to new data released today by Wireless Intelligence. This aggressive growth will be spearheaded by China with the country expected to account for nearly half (57.9 million) of the total number of LTE connections in Asia Pacific during this period. Major Asian countries are currently driving HSPA and LTE Mobile Broadband uptake to boost productivity, enhance GDP and build more efficient, information-based economies...

The national carrier of Paraguay, Compañía Paraguaya de Comunicaciones S.A. (COPACO S.A.), has connected to iBasis, a wholesale carrier for the exchange of long distance phone calls. The connection makes Paraguay part of a global network spanning over 100 countries and delivering more than 2 billion minutes of international voice traffic every month...

New market reports for two West African nations – Gambia and Burkina Faso – suggest that both countries have weathered the global financial crisis well. Telecoms and internet offerings are set to improve over the next few years with the advent of new fibre-optic cables...

As part of its ongoing dispute with India’s tax authorities, Vodafone has been ordered to pay a deposit of INR 25 billion (£345m) of an INR 112.18bn tax claim...

The handset market in India has attracted another major player in the form of Sharp, the Japanese electronics firm. With an aggressive expansion strategy that will see it launch four devices in India before the end of the year, Sharp has stated its aim of “becoming a leader in the mobility market in India”...

 The South African mobile telecommunication market is one of the most developed and mature markets in Africa with a very high demand for mobile value added services. In order to meet this demand, the South African operator Cell C has selected MCTEL to deploy its device management platform on its network...

 India’s Department of Telecoms has been hit by allegations that have forced the country’s telecoms minister, Andimuthu Raja, to resign. The department is believed to have sold 2G spectrum licences for far less than they were worth, thereby costing India billions of dollars...

Globecomm Systems has won a contract to provide wireless managed services in Freetown, Sierra Leone...

The next generation of wireless broadband appears to be taking off in Africa, with several African countries recently witnessing the launch of their first 4G networks...

Azur Congo Brazzaville, a subsidiary of group operator Bintel Ltd, has increased its investment in Redknee’s billing and customer care solution in response to the fast customer acquisition it has experienced since it launched in September 2010...

 China’s forthcoming Taiyuan-Zhongwei-Yinchuan high speed railway will have its essential wireless communications enabled by Andrew Solutions. The firm will provide a coverage and capacity system in the Shanxi Province section of the railway...

Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries lead the European ranks in terms of fibre to the home/building (FTTH/B) subscriber growth. The fastest adoption of these technologies can be observed in countries where local loop unbundling (LLU) has either not been implemented or not gained much popularity. In the long term, investment in FTTH/B technology will become one of the major competitive weapons for all fixed broadband operators in the ongoing battle against mobile broadband providers...

The US Virgin Islands recently witnessed the launch of commercial services – including unlimited voice services and 4G mobile broadband - by Choice Communications...

 The Bank of China has agreed to loan a total of US$591 million to Cambodia’s largest mobile operator, in a financing agreement unprecedented in the Southeast Asian nation’s history...

 The Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) has chosen Nokia Siemens Networks to expand and modernise its 2.5G (GSM/GPRS) network, as well as provide subscriber data management and charging & billing platforms...

 The Indian state-owned operator BSNL is building out its network infrastructure to provide next generation broadband and triple play across India...

A new WiMAX network is being launched in Iraq by the operator Fanoos Telecom. The billing provider Aptilo Networks is providing the complete backend of the network, including prepaid billing capabilities, using its WiMAX CSN System...

 The Kuwaiti operator Zain has accepted a preliminary offer by UAE market leader Etisalat to take a majority stake in the firm...

The operator Cablenet is expanding its offering in Cyprus outside of its existing cable footprint and endeavouring to attract consumers and businesses by delivering triple play services...

ITU has dispatched thirty broadband satellite terminals to Haiti as the country prepares for hurricane Tomas...

The Beijing Computing Centre and Mellanox Technologies have announced an agreement to build the Beijing Public Cloud Computing Centre, a laboratory that will further enhance China's cloud computing technology efforts...

Mozambique’s largest mobile operator, mcel, is set to deploy a new microwave network across the country that will cover all of Mozambique’s 128 districts. The operator has contracted Ceragon for a turnkey solution, with complete radio planning for the backbone network, and an on-site survey to detail all link specifications...