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

[behappyalways]

Emoticons in texts can rack up huge bills
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31148424

[winston]

Chinese smartphone market, world's largest, shrinks in first-quarter: study

China's smartphone market has reached saturation, according to a new study by industry analyst IDC that carries potentially significant implications for the global handset industry led by giants like Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS).

During the first quarter of 2015, smartphone shipments in the world's most populous country shrank for the first time in six years to 98.8 million, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier, IDC said in report on a Monday, attributing the slump to "market saturation".

The rise of Chinese consumers has fueled booming demand for smartphones in recent years, lifting firms including Apple - which made a record $16.8 billion in revenue in China last quarter thanks to its iPhone 6 series launch - and Beijing-based Xiaomi [XTC.UL], which grew into a $46 billion company in just four years.

China overtook the United States in 2011 to become the world's largest smartphone market.

But IDC's data suggesting that a slowdown has already begun could pose questions for the industry.

Thanks to its large-screen iPhone 6, Apple consolidated its position in the shrinking Chinese market, claiming 14.7 percent market share, ahead of Xiaomi and Huawei at 13.7 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively, according to IDC.

Global leader Samsung came in fourth in China with a 9.7 percent share.

The slowdown in China will increase pressure on manufacturers to seek growth in India and Southeast Asia, where striking partnerships with distributors will prove critical, said IDC analyst Xiaohan Tay.

Xiaomi, for one, has actively courted both online and offline sellers in India over the past year. The company, which has sold its handsets on Flipkart.com for the past year, said last month it would also sell its phones at The Mobile Store retail chain throughout the country.


Source: Reuters

[winston]

Internet stocks soar as China sets speed

Internet-related stocks surged yesterday after China announced plans to accelerate the development of its high-speed broadband networks to raise internet speeds and cut prices.

Telecoms firms should make rapid moves to cut prices and increase urban broadband speeds by around 40 percent, the State Council, the country's Cabinet, said in a statement late Wednesday.

Internet companies surged higher, led by wireless solutions provider Comba Telecom Systems Holdings (2342) and handset designer SIM Technology Group (2000), which jumped 15.45 percent and 20.75 percent, respectively.

Tencent (0700) also gained 2.87 percent to HK$161.30. Mobile and games developer Netdragon Websoft (0777) surged nearly 6 percent to HK$35.95. The stock, relating to the online education business, has shot up nearly 60 percent in the past week.

China Telecom (0728) said it will invest no less than 80 billion yuan (HK$99.99 billion) a year to expand broadband-access development. But its shares fell 3.16 percent to HK$5.52 amid worries of price cuts.

The statement did not say how much investment is needed, but officials earlier earmarked around 2 trillion yuan to improve the country's broadband infrastructure by 2020.

Internet penetration rate was only 47.9 percent last year, with connectivity especially low in smaller cities and rural areas. This compares to around three-quarters in the United States.

China would look to open up the telecoms market and encourage increased competition, including expanding a pilot scheme for broadband services this year, the State Council said.

"There is still not enough competition, which has led to telecoms fees being relatively high while there is still much room to improve service quality," it said, citing an official at the State Information Centre.

Source: Reuters

[winston]

Internet stocks soar as China sets speed

Internet-related stocks surged yesterday after China announced plans to accelerate the development of its high-speed broadband networks to raise internet speeds and cut prices.

Telecoms firms should make rapid moves to cut prices and increase urban broadband speeds by around 40 percent, the State Council, the country's Cabinet, said in a statement late Wednesday.

Internet companies surged higher, led by wireless solutions provider Comba Telecom Systems Holdings (2342) and handset designer SIM Technology Group (2000), which jumped 15.45 percent and 20.75 percent, respectively.

Tencent (0700) also gained 2.87 percent to HK$161.30. Mobile and games developer Netdragon Websoft (0777) surged nearly 6 percent to HK$35.95. The stock, relating to the online education business, has shot up nearly 60 percent in the past week.

China Telecom (0728) said it will invest no less than 80 billion yuan (HK$99.99 billion) a year to expand broadband-access development. But its shares fell 3.16 percent to HK$5.52 amid worries of price cuts.

The statement did not say how much investment is needed, but officials earlier earmarked around 2 trillion yuan to improve the country's broadband infrastructure by 2020.

Internet penetration rate was only 47.9 percent last year, with connectivity especially low in smaller cities and rural areas. This compares to around three-quarters in the United States.

China would look to open up the telecoms market and encourage increased competition, including expanding a pilot scheme for broadband services this year, the State Council said.

"There is still not enough competition, which has led to telecoms fees being relatively high while there is still much room to improve service quality," it said, citing an official at the State Information Centre.

Source: Reuters

[winston]

China wireless carriers to slash contract prices, could spur 4G boom

China's three state-owned wireless carriers said on Friday they will cut mobile data prices and boost data speeds this year, potentially spurring a mass migration of customers to more lucrative 4G contracts.

The carriers have been under pressure to respond to Premier Li Keqiang's push to lower barriers to and expand Internet access throughout the country, with Beijing keen to make industries more efficient as the economy becomes more services-oriented.

By slashing prices in the world's biggest smartphone market, the carriers are set to increase the appeal of 4G beyond premium users, and encourage more subscribers to use those faster speeds to consume more data.

"This is really the year of mass market migration, so I think it's a necessary step to make that happen," said Chris Lane, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong who covers Asia-Pacific telecommunications.

"It's happened in every other market, the sky hasn't fallen. If anything, industry profits have continued to grow, because data demand will continue to grow," he said.

China Mobile Ltd, the country's biggest wireless carrier by subscribers, said it would reduce mobile data prices by 35 percent or more by the end of 2015.

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd plans a cut of 20 percent or more per megabyte of data. China Telecom Corp Ltd, the smallest of the three, said its subscriber costs for data will fall by an average 30 percent per megabyte.

As of the end of March, China had 1.3 billion mobile subscribers with half of those on 3G or 4G contracts. China Unicom and Telecom also said they will lower broadband prices.

Source: Reuters

[winston]

You Thought Your Cable Was Bad? Try Using China Telecom

By Frank Fang

Source: Epoch Times

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1361974 ... a-telecom/

[winston]

not vested

<Research Report>G Sachs's Latest Ratings & TPs for Chinese Telcos (Table)

Goldman Sachs, in its latest report, updated the latest investment rating and target price for Chinese telcos:

Stock/ Investment Rating/ Target Price (HK$)
CHINA MOBILE (00941.HK)/ Buy/ 120->128
CHINA UNICOM (00762.HK)/ Neutral/ 13->15
CHINA TELECOM (00728.HK)/ Neutral/ 5.3->5.7


Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

Apple Pay vs. Google Pay vs. Samsung Pay: The Digital Wallet War

With mobile payment gaining acceptance, which tech company’s system is going to dominate?

By Brad Moon

Source: InvestorPlace

http://investorplace.com/2015/06/apple- ... XtsetKqqko

[winston]

not vested

Chinese Telcos All Fare Well on China Tower Rumour and Upbeat User Addition Expectation

The Chinese telecommunication companies all fared well this morning.

CHINA MOBILE (00941.HK) reclaimed $100 and once soared over 3%. CHINA UNICOM (00762.HK) and CHINA TELECOM (00728.HK) jumped 7% and 5.2%, respectively.

The market is looking forward to the gradual launch of China Tower's restructuring plan.

It is expected the value of 3 telecommunication companies can be unlocked, especially for CHINA UNICOM and CHINA TELECOM. Two large operators recorded a satisfying performance in net additions of users.

CHINA MOBILE's net additions of 4G subscribers in Jun amounted to nearly 19.33 million, beating May's reading.

CHINA UNICOM's net additions of mobile broadband subscribers accelerated to $5 million, as compared to more than 0.73 million in May.

Morgan Stanley pointed out that CHINA UNICOM's performance in June is a turning point. It is expected the company's net additional customers can keep on improving in the second half of 2015.

The broker reiterated Overweight on CHINA UNICOME and CHINA TELECOM, and kept the rating of CHINA MOBILE at Equalweight.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

Profits set to fall for China telcos

China's three largest telecom operators who will announce their interim results this week could see slight drops in profit after a transition to value-added tax last June.

Despite its domination of 80 percent of China's 4G market, China Mobile (0941) is expected to see a 4.41 percent net profit drop from last year to 55.19 billion yuan (HK$66.96 billion) due to the change of tax payment, combined data of 11 securities firms shows.

Since June 1 last year, domestic telecom firms are required to pay 6 to 11 percent VAT, instead of 3 percent business tax.

Total turnover may slide as the world's largest mobile carrier lowered its monthly fee to attract users, after the government asked carriers to reduce expenditures on subsidizing clients to buy phones, Credit Suisse said in a report.

But the yuan's devaluation will not cast a shadow over its profit, given all its debts are yuan-denominated, Morgan Stanley said.

For China Telecom (0728), the second-largest player, eight market watchers estimated a 4.6 percent net profit fall to 10.91 billion yuan.

But Merrill Lynch said its performance in the second quarter may have been boosted by an increase in 4G subscribers.

An analysis showed China Unicom (0762) may have the worst performance with a 4.11 percent net profit drop to 6.41 billion yuan due to its failure in developing 4G business.

As 36 percent of its debts are denominated in Hong Kong dollars and 8 percent in US dollars, a 1 percent drop in the yuan may lead to a 606 million foreign exchange loss, Macquarie said.

China Telecom will announce its results on Wednesday, followed by China Mobile on Thursday and China Unicom on Friday.


Source: The Standard HK