Notable Regional Developments

Asia/Pacific

Australian operator Telstra has signed a network-to-network interconnection (NNI) agreement with Indian operator Tata Communications to use Tata’s 116 points of presence (PoPs), as a way to extend Telstra’s reach into the country’s tier II and tier III (smaller and minor) cities, such as Jaipur, Surat and Trichy. This agreement increases Telstra’s access to more than 2,000 PoPs in 230 countries and territories and positions it as one of the most scalable networks across the globe. The initiative augments Telstra’s strategy to include NNI agreements in emerging countries that are showing signs of growth and an increased demand for connectivity.

Europe

France mobile operator Orange’s Business Services unit is partnering with electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors to provide wireless connectivity to drivers of Tesla’s Model S cars in France. Through Orange’s mobile network and SIM cards, consumers can experience connected-car features such as interactive navigation services, internet radio, web browsing, seamless remote diagnostics and over-the-air updates of M2M software.

Latin America

Argentina’s telecoms ministry SeCom announced that the country’s local operators Claro, Personal and Movistar as well as multimedia company Grupo Uno are prequalified to bid on 4G spectrum in the 31 October auction. The government expects to award 90 MHz of spectrum in both the 700 MHz and the 1,700/2,100 MHz bands.

Middle East/Africa

Vodacom Business, a subsidiary of the Vodacom Group that provides connectivity and telecommunications services to businesses, has introduced cloud solutions to its Nigerian customers. Due to security concerns, only a third of businesses in Nigeria are currently using cloud technology. According to Vodacom, its enterprise-class cloud and hosting solutions provide businesses with a secure and reliable IT infrastructure.

North America

U.S. MVNO Kajeet will provide affordable mobile broadband coverage via Sprint’s network to 2,000 additional U.S. school districts, an increase over the 37 districts that Kajeet originally partnered with in the project. Through this connectivity, students are able to access online textbooks, apps, emails, documents and websites. The schools are also providing students with the Kajeet SmartSpot solution, a portable Mi-Fi mobile hotspot to ensure connectivity for students outside of the classroom.

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