China Mobile to launch 3G mobile services end-2007
The News Review:
- China Mobile to launch 3G mobile services end-2007
- Quarantine put around fruit fly outbreak
- London fashion chiefs defend size zero policy
- New owners to get over 22.3 million customers
- AFX TOP STORIES Global 1105 GMT
- Jaaskelainen’s heroics foil Fulham
- Premier League back Houllier for England
China Mobile to launch 3G mobile services end-2007
The Age – Feb 12, 2007
The company will finish the construction of 8,602 TD-SCDMA basestations in eight cities including Beijing, Shanghai and thesouthern city of Shenzhen before October this year. It will also complete the procurement of core equipment based onthis standard before end-May, it said. Repeated delays following promises to grant all 3G platformlicenses has sparked speculation that its home-grown standard isnot yet up to snuff. The government has promised it will issue 3G licenses in timefor operations to be launched by the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The newspaper cited analysts as saying that China Mobile’slarge-scale commercial deployment for this technology indicatesthat the government has “indirectly” issued the TD-SCDMAlicense. Li Yuan, an analyst with China International Capital Corp, saidChina Mobile is likely to mainly operate the networks based on thehome-grown standard after the roll out of 3G services. Citing separate sources, the newspaper said China Telecom andChina Netcom are expected to spend one billion yuan each onexpanding their own networks using the same standard in two othersecond-tier cities.
Quarantine put around fruit fly outbreak
NEWS.com.au – Feb 12, 2007
"While this outbreak will primarily affect commercial producers, all residents within the control area will be advised of the eradication program, which requires DPI teams visiting household yards and orchards to apply bait to kill fruit flies in host plants, he said. "Koonoomoo lies within the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone, so its critical the pest is controlled to prevent it from spreading to nearby fruit production areas. "
Mr Ashcroft said all home-grown fruit should be consumed on the property. Residents were advised to put any unwanted home grown fruit in a sealed plastic bag, which should be left in the sun for at least three days to kill any fruit fly maggots. The bag could then be disposed of in a rubbish bin. A 15km suspension zone has also been declared to prevent the movement of untreated host fruit to markets in Melbourne, South Australia and Western Australia. The towns of Cobram, Strathmerton and Yarroweyah were located within the Victorian section of the 15km suspension zone.
London fashion chiefs defend size zero policy
Guardian Unlimited – Feb 12, 2007
Jacobs’ office would only confirm that they were expecting several of “Marc’s friends” to attend. Friday will also see the official opening of Marc Jacobs’ first London boutique in Mayfair. The presence of such a well-respected designer is viewed by most as an inspiration to London’s home-grown designers, who historically have been strong on creativity but weak on commercial know-how. Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, said: “It’s an honour for us to have the Marc show here. The idea that star names are a distraction is nonsense – it only brings in more new people to check out the talent we already have here.
New owners to get over 22.3 million customers
Times of India – Feb 12, 2007
When number
crunchers pegged the enterprise value of Hutch, along with ARPU (average revenue
per user), they also factor in customer retention rate, cost of new acquisitions
and the inevitable, cost of capital. As mobile talk time plateaus, the trick is
to move customers to value-added services that provide higher revenue margins
and this is where Hutch’s new owners will have their task cut out for
them. Also critical, say
consultant AT Kearney, will be being able to hold onto its existing customer
base, as competition hots up from home-grown brands. Hutch’s ARPU is currently
pegged by industry estimates at Rs 380 per month and has been on a decline. Compared to this, average ARPU for an user in US is around $50 (Rs 2250) per
month. So whether the current
valuations ($18 billion-$20 billion ) are high or not depends on how well the
new owner eventually is able to push up usage and margins while holding onto its
clientele. That said India
iremains a highly regulated market and entry barriers for new players are still
quite high all of which should help Vodafone going forward.
AFX TOP STORIES Global 1105 GMT
Forbes – Feb 12, 2007
9 bln excluding the proceeds of the share offering, which will represent around 25 pct of Integra’s share capital. China Mobile to roll out 3G service before end-Oct BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) – China Mobile Communications Corp, the parent of China Mobile Ltd ( HK 0941), plans to invest over 15 bln yuan to build TD-SCDMA networks in 2007 and roll out third generation (3G) mobile services before the end of October, the Economic Observer reported. The newspaper cited a company plan as saying that China Mobile will complete the construction of home-grown TD-SCDMA networks before the end of October. COPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News LimitedNeither the Subscriber nor AFX News warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred.
Jaaskelainen’s heroics foil Fulham
Belfast Telegraph – Feb 12, 2007
" The Bolton manager added: "He’d had very little to do all day, then he produced a save like that to bail the lads out. " Although Fulham had been under Bolton’s thumb for most of yesterday’s encounter, Tomasz Radzinski might well have stolen back a point with his injury time header but for the Finn’s lightning reactions. With fewer than one third of the players who took the field at the Reebok Stadium yesterday being home-grown products, this truly was the battle of the foreign brigades. Bolton, it was rumoured, would open with a 4-3-3 formation to increase flexibility, but this looked to cause more consternation for the hosts than their opponents in the early stages. Michael Brown’s initial bullishness on the ball and the menace of Heidar Helguson – surely one of the Premiership’s most improved players – kept the Wanderers on the back foot for 22 minutes. To say that Brown was furious with Nicolas Anelka when the Frenchman came to earth as a result of his tackle is an understatement. But Brown was probably foolhardy to execute his reverse tackle in such a crucial position in the first place.
Premier League back Houllier for England
Telegraph.co.uk – Feb 12, 2007
First and foremost, they believe that a high-calibre technical expert with experience of coaching at the top level of the game should be recruited as a matter or urgency to look at the structure of player development and devise ways of improving the quality of young players feeding into the England set-up. Houllier, who fulfils the same role for the French Federation, has been mentioned by the Premier League as exactly the kind of person the FA need to revamp the system and avoid repeating the mistakes that led to England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008. The vastly experienced Roy Hodgson is also seen as someone who would fit the bill, despite his decision last week to accept a job at his former club Inter Milan following his resignation as manager of the Finnish national team. Representatives of the Premier League clubs have made their views plain to Barwick that only when such a technical guru has been hired should the FA turn their attention to appointing a new manager.