industry / IT
ATO Change Program to cost $24m moreTHE Australian Taxation Office has been forced to increase the budget for its core technology overhaul to $749 million.
Australian IT Tuesday, September 01, 2009Samsung to launch app store in Europe on 14 September(Telecompaper) Samsung will launch its smartphone application store in Europe on 14 September. The Application Store will open in the UK, France and Italy, with more than 30 countries including Germany and Spain to follow. Initially, the store will be accessible to users of Omnia and I8910 HD devices and later expand to other models. In order to activate the service, Omnia and I8910 HD users will need to upgrade their devices. Earlier this year, Samsung launched its seller site for application developers and content providers enabling them to distribute and sell their applications directly to Samsung users. The application store allows users to browse a variety of applications including games, references, social networking, e-books and health-related tools. The on-device client is available in English, French and Italian. Additional languages, devices and features will be added throughout the year. Over 300 native applications meeting Samsung's content guidelines will be available at l
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009DTAC begins 3G trial in Bangkok(Telecompaper) Thai mobile operator DTAC, in cooperation with concession holder CAT Telecom, has launched a 3G trial in the capital Bangkok. Initially, the trial network covers Chulalongkorn University, Pantip Plaza and MBK shopping centres, Siam Square, Sam Yan, and Chamchuri Square. Later the coverage area will be expanded to other areas in Bangkok. The service allows 2,000 selected users to use DTAC datacards to access mobile broadband through notebooks and excludes voice services. Users will be able to use the service for free during the trial period. The trial uses HSPA technology in the 850 MHz band and will run until the end of December.
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009Optus email change angers customersOPTUS has been forced to halt the planned shut down of its optushome.com.au email domain after users complained of insufficient warning.
Australian IT Tuesday, September 01, 2009Netbooks post higher demand than notebook PCs in Q2(Telecompaper) The total notebook PC market posted strong quarter-over-quarter and year-on-year growth in the second quarter as units surged past the 38 million mark, according to a study by DisplaySearch. The mini-note PC (netbook) market was particularly strong, growing 40 percent quarter-over-quarter, which was twice the 22 percent growth rate of larger notebook PCs. The strong growth of mini-note PCs drove their share of the portable computer markets to 22.2 percent in Q2. Asus, the pioneer in mini-note PCs, has been steadily losing share because tier 1 brands like Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have
become increasingly aggressive in this segment. Mini-note penetration in Latin America and Greater China is higher than notebook PC penetration. The low prices of mini-note PCs make these products more affordable for these emerging markets, and these regions have many first-time PC buyers, who are less likely to require all the bells available on a larger mainstream notebook PC. In
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009SFR grows Q2 revenues 4.2% to EUR 3.1 bln(Telecompaper) French mobile and fixed operator SFR increased its revenues by 16.1 percent to EUR 6.14 billion in the first half, due to the consolidation of Neuf Cegetel since 15 April 2008. On a comparable basis, as if Neuf Cegetel had been consolidated on 1 January 2008, SFR revenues slipped by 0.3 percent. EBITDA fell by EUR 151 million to EUR 1.98 billion in the half, including a surtax to finance public broadcaster France Televisions. Second-quarter revenues rose by 4.2 percent to EUR 3.11 billion from EUR 2.99 billion. EBITA fell by 3.3 percent to EUR 1.3 billion in the half and by 4.2 percent to EUR 686 million in the second quarter, compared to the year-ealier periods. Mobile revenues rose by 0.6 percent to EUR 4.44 billion in the first half, including service revenues up 0.5 percent to EUR 4.25 billion, thanks to customer growth and data revenues up 34 percent related to unlimited SMS/MMS offers and mobile internet develoment for consumers and enterprise customers. Mobile EBI
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009Bell ends portal partnership with Microsoft(Telecompaper) Bell Canada has enhanced its Sympatico.ca portal following a contract with Microsoft that will see Sympatico.ca and MSN.ca operate as separate and distinct portals. As part of the three-year contract, the companies will continue to cooperate and exchange traffic between each other's portals, while Sympatico.ca will also use the Bing search engine and continue to offer Windows Live Hotmail and Messenger inventory to Canadian advertisers. Canada's default homepage address sympatico.msn.ca will also be redirected to Sympatico.ca. Bell has also launched four new portal channels, inlucing Autos, InMovies.ca, YourMoney.ca and Best Health, a Reader's Digest publication.
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009PT, Telefonica sell Meditel stakes(Telecompaper) Portugal Telecom has agreed to sell its 32.2 percent stake in Moroccan mobile operator Meditel for EUR 400 million to a group of Moroccan companies. Telefonica also confirmed the sale of its 32.2 percent stake for the same amount to Meditel's local shareholders. The transaction is expected to close by year-end. The buyers include Moroccan insurance company RMA Watanya, the CDG fund, which is Morocco government's financial arm, and privately-owned group Finances.com. RMA Watanya and Finance.com are owned by businessman Othman Benjelloun, who already had a 5 percent share in Meditel. The transaction assumes an enterprise value of EUR 1.619 billion for all of Meditel, equal to 8.4 times EBITDA for the last 12 months.
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009Tele2 introduces mobile internet(Telecompaper) Dutch operator Tele2 is introducing mobile internet over T-Mobile' network. The Onbeperkt Mobiel Internet Start (unlimited mobile internet start) package offers, for EUR 17.95 per month, speeds up to 768/384 kbps and 250 MB data. Onbeperkt Mobiel Internet Standaard (Unlimited mobile internet standard) is priced at EUR 29.95 and offer 2048/384 kbps and 1 GB. The heaviest package offered is Onbeperkt Mobile Internet Super (unlimited mobile internet super), with 2048/768 kbps and 2.5 GB, for EUR 49.95. All packages have a fair use policy. Tele2 is offering the mobile internet deals in combination wiht a two-year subscription. In November, all Mobiel Internet clients will automatically receive a free upgrade to respectively 1 Mbs, 3.6 Mbs and 7.2 Mbs.
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009Nokia Siemens Networks appoints Suri as CEO(Telecompaper) Nokia Siemens Networks has appointed Rajeev Suri as chief executive officer, effective 1 October. Suri succeeds Simon Beresford-Wylie, who will support Suri during a transition period through 1 November before leaving the company. Beresford-Wylie will leave the Nokia Group executive board as of 30 September. Suri will be based at Nokia Siemens Networks' headquarters in Espoo, Finland. Suri, who currently leads the services business of Nokia Siemens, brings twenty years of experience in the telecommunications industry to the role of CEO. Previous positions have included leading the Asia-Pacific region, overseeing teams for important customers such as Hutchison, and managing products of Nokia. In previous roles, he has been based in various locations including India, Finland, the UK, West Africa and Singapore.
dmeurope.com Tuesday, September 01, 2009 1 2
Archived it news stories.
Available news archives.