Telecoms, Mobile Phones, 5G, Satellite Communications etc.

[winston]

Global mobile payments to top $171 bn: survey

Worldwide mobile payments are expected to top $171.5 billion in 2012, a 61.9 percent increase from 2011, a research report said Tuesday.

The Gartner study said the number of people using mobile payments will reach 212.2 million in 2012, up from 160.5 million in 2011.

"We expect global mobile transaction volume and value to average 42 percent annual growth between 2011 and 2016, and we are forecasting a market worth $617 billion with 448 million users by 2016," said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner.

SMS remains the dominant access technology in developing markets, Gartner said. In North America and Western Europe, the biggest payment method is using smartphones on a Web page, a system known as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol).

Another system known as Near Field Communication (NFC), in which a consumer uses a smartphone that is read by a scanning device, will start to pick up from 2016, according to the report.

"NFC payment involves a change in user behavior and requires collaboration among stakeholders that includes banks, mobile carriers, card networks and merchants," said Shen.


Source:AFP Global Edition

[iam802]

At $4B,... it is half of $NOK.

It seems like NOK will have a tough fight going up.

--
China phone firm Xiaomi to get $4 bln valuation after new funding-source

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/ ... 5Y20120605

[winston]

not vested

DJ MARKET TALK: Citi Tips Unicom As Top China Telecom Sector Pick

1252 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: Citigroup expects the price of the high-functioning low-cost smartphone, will drop faster to US$100 from the current US$150 in 2H12, benefiting China Unicom (0762.HK) the most and addressing market concerns on sector growth.

It raises Unicom's FY12-14 earnings forecasts by 8%-10%, mainly on lower handset subsidies, increases its target price to HK$17.00 from HK$16.50 and upgrades it to its sector top Buy.

The house keeps its Buy call on China Mobile (0941.HK) but expects limited earnings contribution from improved 3G smartphone supply.

Citi also lowers its target price on China Telecom (0728.HK) to HK$3.80 from HK$5.000 on subdued broadband growth and keeps the stock at Neutral.

Unicom is up 2.4% at HK$9.73 at interval.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

In another technology sector, China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's No.2 maker of telecom equipment, had been expected to surpass Sweden's Ericsson in 2011 sales.

But slow telecom spending, stiff competition in the handset market and difficulties in tapping the massive U.S. market held it back.


Source: Reuters

[winston]

Global mobile data traffic doubled in year: Ericsson

The amount of data used by mobile devices doubled over the past year, boosted by growth in video streaming services, according to a study released on Wednesday by Swedish telecom group Ericsson.

http://www.france24.com/en/20121121-glo ... r-ericsson

[iam802]

Came across this news and thought how vulnerable telcos are in this age.

--
LinkedIn Users Can Now Call Each Other for Free

http://www.bloomberg.com/article/2012-1 ... .html?null

STOCKHOLM, November 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Farewell, phone numbers. Plingm, the Swedish mobile VoIP app, takes the innovation lead on smartphone communication and introduces free phone calls for LinkedIn's 151 million users. Without a single digit, Plingm users with an iPhone can call their own contacts on LinkedIn directly.

Across the world, LinkedIn has more than 151 million LinkedIn users. Thanks to an innovative back-end solution developed by Plingm, LinkedIn users can now also call and talk to their LinkedIn contacts for free anywhere in the world.

"Mobile numbers are legacy. By using our LinkedIn calling feature, you can always reach the person you want to speak to even if they switch jobs or change their number," says Pandelis Eliopoulos, co-founder of Plingm. "With
the growing use of social media, the possibility to call your LinkedIn contacts directly without a phone number is a logical evolution of mobile communication."

How to do it

Download the Plingm app from the App Store and accept to connect with your LinkedIn account. The app automatically scans and imports all your contacts. Calls between Plingm users are free, regardless if you are in the same town or on the other side of the world.

About the app

With the numbers steadily increasing and an impressive consumer rating on App Store, the mobile VoIP app Plingm combines high sound quality with user-friendliness. All calls made to other Plingm users are free, regardless
of where they are in the world, and there is no time limit. Calling with this service instead of a traditional operator will save people large sums of money, particularly on international calls. At a low rate, consumers can also call friends not yet using Plingm.

....

[winston]

not vested

CHINA MOBILE (00941.HK)'s TP lifted to $105 - GS

The three biggest Chinese telecommunications operators displayed signs of a higher profit after a year of fierce competitions, said Goldman Sachs, who lifted the target prices of CHINA MOBILE (00941.HK), CHINA UNICOM (00762.HK) and CHINA TELECOM (00728.HK) to $105/13.4/4.8 from $100/14/5.


Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

Worldwide mobile phone sales fell in 2012: Gartner

LONDON (Reuters) - Sales of mobile phones around the world fell last year for the first time since 2009 as consumers shunned cheaper feature phones, research company Gartner said on Wednesday.

Total worldwide mobile sales to end users fell 1.7 percent to 1.75 billion units in 2012, Gartner said.

Samsung and Apple continued to dominate the market, with the Korean company selling 385 million phones in 2012, of which 53.5 percent were smartphones, with Apple selling 130 million smartphones.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/ ... orethebell

[winston]

Chang Xiaobing expects CN telecom industry to grow 9% in 2013
2013-03-05

CHINA UNICOM (00762.HK)'s Chairman Chang Xiaobing said he believes the development of telecom industry will be healthy and robust over the next few years as the use 3G technology will be more applicable to society, expecting a growth of around 9% in the whole industry.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

Google's Schmidt sees 1 billion Android phones in use in nine months

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt predicted on Tuesday that there will be more than a billion smartphones in use featuring its Android software within the next six to nine months.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/ ... nologyNews