Notable Developments in Telecommunication Worldwide

Asia/Pacific

Japanese messaging app LINE is partnering with BBC News, the U.K.-based international media service, to deliver short video clips of breaking news to LINE users in 11 countries. In order to receive the service, subscribers of the app in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain and the U.S. must list the BBC’s official account as a friend on their app.

Europe

T-Mobile Austria, the country’s second-largest operator, has announced a new tariff structure that will keep the cost of mobile devices separate from the cost of mobile plans. Subscribers can use an existing device or purchase a new one by paying in full or with a deposit and a payment installment plan. Once the device is paid in full, customers’ monthly bills will only be for the plan. Existing customers can choose this option once their current contracts have expired.

Latin America

Telefónica’s Brazilian mobile operator, Vivo, has launched a new service called Vivo Chamada Patrocinada, a sponsored call service for customers in Northeast Brazil. The service, which was already available to subscribers in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, will now enable Vivo customers in Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte to make free local calls of up to a minute to fixed line phones and to on-net mobile phones in exchange for listening to a 15-second-long advertisement. Twenty advertisers are providing messages on the service.

Middle East/Africa

Orange Money, the mobile wallet service that France-based Orange offers in 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East, has partnered with the Bank of Africa (BOA) to enable the MNO’s customers to transfer money back and forth between their Orange Money account and their BOA account via their mobile phone. The service will enable Orange subscribers to manage their money and perform banking operations, transfer money, pay for goods and services and purchase airtime credit.

North America

U.S. operator AT&T is partnering with Shell, the global group of energy and petrochemical companies, to enable Shell’s 150,000 employees and independent contractors in over 50 countries to be able to connect to one another using PCs, tablets and smartphones. Via a single interface, this unified communications platform will enable employees to interact through instant messaging, voice, web and video conferencing as well as to share applications and data files. The solution is usable with all major operating platforms including, Windows, Windows Phone, iOS and Android in a managed environment. AT&T says it will create an efficient working environment, in which, for example, calls can be made to entire teams of employees in different geographic locations.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx