Motorola will release three new devices as part of its ‘Ming’ product range; each of the three will be exclusive to one of the market’s three major operators – China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom – with the respective models supporting TD-SCDMA, WCDMA and CDMA EVDO 3G connectivity. Motorola claims that all three devices feature “superb Chinese handwriting support, developed by Motorola and now in its sixth generation.”

Sony Ericsson meanwhile has announced just one device, named the A8i, which will be its first TD-SCDMA-capable smartphone for China Mobile. Both of the devices exclusive to China Mobile will run on a variant of Android designed by the operator, entitled OMS 2.0, and will also both support the Chinese market’s CMMB mobile television standard.

Both vendors are taking on the Chinese smartphone market leader Nokia, which has a 76.9% market share according to the research firm Canalys – a phenomenal lead, especially given that Motorola holds the second place with a mere 4.7% share. Many of the available Nokia devices support TD-SCDMA, but run on Symbian OS.

Motorola has a suite of eleven Android-based devices which it will target at China, further driving Android adoption in the country – the second largest smartphone market in the world.

Corporate customers are currently the only beneficiaries of BlackBerry in China, as China Mobile offer only BlackBerry Enterprise Server-based services. Having announced the intention to target the consumer market towards the end of 2009, RIM and China Mobile have begun operations to integrate the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) technology with China Mobile’s billing systems.

RIM has recently been plagued by security concerns in other territories, and so is attempting to make further inroads into the Chinese market, working with the third largest Chinese operator China Telecom as well as the market leader.

However, RIM’s attempts to increase its Chinese operations have hit several hurdles. Expansion has been somewhat stymied by China Mobile’s focus on the enterprise market, while the dearth of BlackBerry devices which operate on China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA-based 3G network has also proved problematic.

Despite these setbacks, RIM is claimed to be launching a new Chinese version of its App World store, and its future in China looks positive - a stark contrast to its ongoing problems in other countries, with India being the current focus.

After holding what were described as ‘last ditch’ talks with high-level Indian security authorities last week, RIM has agreed to provide ‘technical solutions’ that will allow the monitoring of its encrypted email and messenger services by local security agencies.

The deal was reached ahead of the deadline, which was set for the 31^st of August. Indian authorities have confirmed that the new monitoring system will be trialled over the next 60 days to determine whether it meets the government’s requirements. During this time, BlackBerry owners will experience no interruptions to services.

The deal represents a compromise to avert a total ban on BlackBerries in India – as the second-largest mobile market in the world, this could be a potential disaster for RIM. The Indian Government has demanded real-time access to RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Email and a readable form of its Messenger service data, claiming that this traffic could represent a threat to national security if not correctly monitored.

RIM’s initial response was to highlight the fact that it does not possess a master key to unscramble BlackBerry data as the enterprise service’s security tech requires a user-created key – therefore, corporate data is entirely inaccessible to RIM. However, in previous meetings RIM had suggested that it could share the IP address of BlackBerry Enterprise servers, as well as the PIN and IMEI numbers of individual BlackBerry devices – measures which still did not meet India’s security criteria.

The specifics of the new agreement are currently unknown, although one Indian official was quoted as saying that RIM would provide "some technical solutions which people suggested—from virtual servers to making these accessible in various ways." If this solution is found to be unacceptable, RIM will be required to locate its servers within India if it wishes to continue operations in the country.

Reports claim that BlackBerry Messenger services will continue, as RIM has promised the authorities real-time access to communications via a new tool which will be delivered by November. Unless a similar solution is delivered for the BlackBerry corporate email service in the same timeframe, the Indian government has declared that the service will be suspended.

With roughly 1 million customers in India – 2% of its global market share – averting a blanket ban was evidently of key importance to RIM. However, the vendor’s actions have drawn criticism from various spectators who fear for the potential international ramifications of the compromise.

RIM has been beset with problems recently following the UAE’s crackdown on BlackBerries over security concerns. While this latest development has averted a ban, it has potentially compromised the privacy of RIM’s clients – indeed, the vendor has allegedly been forced to call meetings with major corporate clients (among them Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan) in order to placate their concerns over the service’s security.

Romal Shetty of KPGM said: “If BlackBerry allows this to happen here in India, it’s not just an Indian effect, it’s going to affect them in many other countries.” RIM meanwhile has claimed that it will not make "special deals for specific countries."

RIM is reportedly not the only communications giant to be subjected to Indian security concerns – the country’s government is widely expected to demand similar access to Google’s Gmail and Skype’s VoIP services.

“As the data traffic continued to increase, we wanted our network to meet the growing demand for advanced data services,” said Paolo Chilosi, general director, MultiLink. “Nokia Siemens Networks’ extensive experience in network capacity expansion using microwave technology made it a simple choice to select them as our partner.”

“The Caribbean market is an exciting and growing market with different countries at different stages of the telecommunications evolution, but the one constant is the demand for superior data services,” said Michael Jakob, head of fixed networks business development, Caribbean, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Our solutions have expanded MultiLink’s network, supporting the growing demand for advanced data services in Haiti and helping to address low broadband penetration in the country.”

Under the scope of the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks has deployed its  microwave radio network to MultiLink, enabling the operator to roll out the transport network rapidly and address rising data traffic, while lowering operating costs. The solution has enabled the operator’s network to use its bandwidth more efficiently, ensuring an optimal end-user experience.

Nokia Siemens Networks has also supplied power infrastructure components for the operator’s network. The new, power efficient components have provided MultiLink’s network with extended and extremely reliable service during power outages. In addition to providing power protection and backup, the highly configurable power solution is also capable of meeting the operator’s future expansion needs.

More info:

• http://www.multilink.ht
• www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

TTSL aims to provide high quality mobile broadband over the network, which is based on WCDMA technology and includes HSPA+.

“There is huge demand for mobile Internet access in India, and that’s what 3G brings,” said Mr. AG Rao, chief technology officerand president, Enterprise Business, TTSL. “We want to move quickly, which is why we’re the first to secure our key 3G technology and services supplier.”

“We are committed to a rapid rollout of TTSL’s network,” said Urs Pennanen, head of India Region, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Our strong local 3G expertise will allow us to create a truly efficient and high-quality network. This deployment embeds the latest mobile technology in the Tata Teleservices network preparing it for future demand.”

The contract will see NSN providing its energy-efficient and LTE-ready Flexi Multiradio Base Stations, which allow ‘active sharing’ between operators as well as enabling higher network capacity and faster mobile broadband speeds.

NSN will provide network implementation and managed services to ensure a smooth rollout, improved network performance and seamless introduction of new services. The company will also provide its NetAct network management system to monitor, manage and optimise the 3G/HSPA+ network, and supply other operational support systems.

The 3G rollout will be facilitated by NSN’s 3G manufacturing facility, based in Chennai, as well as a research and development centre based in Bengaluru. The firm is developing a 3G hub in India, having created 3G test labs in the country as well as training over 3200 3G tech experts based in the subcontinent. All of these resources will play a role in supporting TTSL’s 3G rollout from day one.

More info:

• www.tatateleservices.com
• www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

A joint venture between Orascom and the state-owned Korea Posts & Telecommunications Corp, the network was launched in Pyongyang in 2008 and is now expanding; however, the Korea Times believes that the areas closest to the southern border may be excluded for fear of customers roaming onto ‘uncensored’ South Korean networks. Similarly, there are unconfirmed indications that blocking equipment has been put into effect in the north of the country as a means of preventing access to Chinese networks.

Unfortunately, the cost of mobile phones in North Korea is prohibitively high, meaning that despite the network expansion many potential consumers will not benefit from the services as they are unable to afford a handset.

However, despite this revenue has risen 86% year-on-year, with Orascom noting that “Koryolink has succeeded in penetrating medium to medium-high value segments, specifically within the teens and young adults segments.”

Orascom has confirmed that Koryolink had 184,000 customers at the end of June 2010, a rise of almost 48,000 over the previous year. The network reportedly covers 60% of the population, encompassing 12 main cities and 22 key transport routes.