Having previously threatened to do so, the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially banned Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry smartphones, citing security concerns. There are indications that other major markets, both in the Middle East region and globally, could impose a similar ban on the devices...

Over the last year, China has seen a rapid expansion in triple-play services, following the launch of a massive FTTH network by China Telecom. Shanghai Telecom – an operating unit of China Telecom which began a triple-play programme in June 2009 - is now preparing to launch HD IPTV services over this network...

As part of its drive to create new broadcasting infrastructure across Slovenia, the commercial broadcaster Norkring Slovenia has commissioned NEC Corporation to provide its PASOLINK NEO ultra compact microwave communications system...

Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC will soon roll out its first own-branded handsets in China, among them two models designed exclusively for China Mobile...

The Chinese search engine giant Baidu looks unlikely to relinquish the mobile search market to competitors, with new data showing that the engine registered the most mobile searches of any company in China during Q2 2010...

The government of Indonesia has announced that it will reopen bids for licences to develop WiMAX infrastructure. The re-launch follows news that three of the eight original licensees have had their licences rescinded after failing to meet the terms of their contracts...

A new Federal Communications Commission report on broadband deployment has called attention to the need for federal regulators to funnel broadband stimulus funding to areas of greatest need, rather than building duplicate networks in market areas which are already competitive...

A Telecom Advisory Services (TAS) report delivered in conjunction with the GSMA has revealed how mobile sector-specific taxation is impacting on the development and deployment of Mobile Broadband in developing countries...

Belize Telemedia, the only multi-play carrier in Belize, is preparing to launch the nation’s first joint voicemail system, which will be available to both wireline and mobile subscribers...

Telefónica O2 subscribers in Prague and Brno will soon enjoy faster mobile broadband speeds. The operator is upgrading its network to 2.5G, EDGE (Enhanced Data Rate for GSM), technology to keep pace with growth in mobile data and the increasing use of smart devices...

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has purchased Motorola’s networks business for the sum of US$1.2 billion. The acquisition is reportedly aimed at raising NSN’s profile outside of Europe, and particularly in the US and Japan. However, NSN’s winning bid should have an interesting impact on emerging markets, particularly China...

One of Poland’s largest independent telecoms operators, Telefonia DIALOG, will soon be able to offer its customers voice services via VoIP technology, and potentially numerous other services...

 WiMAX has seen phenomenal growth throughout the MENA region since it was first launched in Algeria in 2007. The service is now offered by 26 of the 55 operators licensed to provide it, and is now commercially available in 11 countries in the Arab world...

LTE test networks will be launched in Russia by the end of this year by both the mobile operator MegaFon and the WiMAX provider Yota...

The Indian government has apparently banned the purchase of telecoms equipment from Chinese suppliers, in a move likely to unsettle many Chinese operators with an interest in the Indian market...

Growth of broadband in Africa and the Middle East will be driven by mobile broadband, due largely to poor wireline services and conscientious branding from mobile operators...

Following the arrival of three fibre optic international submarine cables in Kenya across 2009 and 2010 (Seacom, TEAMS and EASSy), Kenya’s telecommunications and broadband markets are no longer dependent on limited and expensive satellite bandwidth...

The ongoing saga of Thailand’s 3G auctions may finally be drawing to a conclusion, as the final draft of the licensing process has been approved by the country’s regulator...

The ITU is leading an internation effort to speed up reconstruction of Haiti’s crucial telecommunications and ICT infrastructure destroyed in the earthquake of 12 January this year...

Following the publication of data by all key mobile network operators in Bangladesh, a new report has found that the country’s telecoms industry saw a slight decline in growth between 2009 and 2008...

One of the largest submarine cable networks in the Asia-Pacific region, the APCN2 (Asia Pacific Cable Network 2), is set to receive a major overhaul...

 Si.mobil, a major Slovenian mobile operator, is expanding its network capacity to allow its subscribers improved access to high-speed data services...

Despite underdeveloped services, Turkmenistan's telecoms sector has been steadfastly expanding in recent years, with a new report from Research & Markets showing that the country's teledensity rate doubled between Q108 and Q109...

Nokia Siemens Networks and Nokia have jointly conducted the world’s first end-to-end LTE data call with Nokia Siemens Networks’ commercial equipment on the 800 MHz frequency band...

The fourth quarter of 2009 saw Tanzania’s mobile market continuing the growth of Q309, demonstrating a convincing return to healthy growth after a notable slip in the first half of the year...

Prepaid.com, an online service for recharging the airtime of prepaid mobile phones, now allows anyone, anywhere in the world, to purchase minutes and other prepaid services for any of the more than 70 million Mexican prepaid mobile phone users...

The South African government, business and consumer sectors will soon have greater access to mobile satellite services following Iridium’s founding of a South Africa branch...

Mobile money is a highly topical - and highly successful - area of interest for the emerging telecom regions. As our report shows, mobile money can function in even the most inhospitable conditions. Michael Schwartz looks at some recent trends which can themselves be adopted by entrants to m-banking...

In the aftermath of January’s devastating earthquake, texting traffic in Haiti has greatly increased. Now one of the country’s leading wireless providers, Voilà, has announced that it will upgrade its Business Support System solution and text messaging capabilities so as to better accommodate this increased volume of traffic...

Global economic downturn has not affected the smartphone market, which is experiencing robust growth...

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at promoting international cooperation on cybersecurity has been signed between the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and the Malaysia-based International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT)...

Pankaj Agrawal, Associate Director of Analysys Mason, weighs up the options available to operators for sustaining growth in emerging markets...