Alec Barton, Publisher of Developing Telecoms, finds great cause for encouragement from 3GSM Barcelona...  

Kuwaiti owned Mobile Telecommunications Company Group (MTC), the largest GSM operator in the region, is to bid for the third GSM licence in Egypt . Mohamed Eid, MTC Country Manager Egypt, has stressed the advantage of winning the contract: employment opportunities for many Egyptians based on a high-quality local labour force.

In a deal valued at US$1.332 billion, MTC has acquired from Sudatel 61% of Sudanese mobile operator Mobitel. Mobitel currently has almost 2 million customers, up 70% in the last year. Funding for this new transaction was secured following the capital increase from an equity rights issue of US$2.3 billion.

Huawei Technologies' global contract sales for 2005 reached US$8.2 billion, a year-on-year growth rate of 40%. The increase is a result of continued market growth in the product areas of wireless mobile network, next generation network, optical networks, data communications, application and software and terminals...

Just three and a half years after it first arrived in Brazil , GSM is now used by more than 50% of Brazilian mobile phone users. According to the Brazilian regulator Anatel, of the 86 million people with mobile phones in Latin America 's largest country, more than 44 million are connected to GSM networks.

During the first week of January this year, the number of ADSL-based broadband Internet subscribers in the Czech   Republic reached 275,000, that is to say an increase of 175% over January 2005 - almost 3 fold growth.

North and South Korea' s first-ever telephone link, connecting the South with the North's Kaesong Industrial Complex, has led to South Korea lobbying for a massive expansion of the service...

Although GSM-based mobile phones have been accepted in North Korea for ten years in the Rajin-Sonbong economic area, North Korea has had a totally hostile attitude towards mobile technology...

First the Soviets built a telephone system in Afghanistan. The Chinese did too. The two weren’t compatible.  Afghan Telecom is the company ordered to sort it all out. It is using expertise from Globecomm Systems.  Michael Schwartz learns more...

Siemens has predicted that in four years time global investment in Internet Protocol television (IPTV) could touch US$1 billion. Prime mover will be China which will account for 25% of world spend...

The mobile phone has become the device most people turn to in an emergency. Mobile networks experience huge increases in traffic immediately following a disaster and high-levels of demand continue for many days afterwards.

Work on the East African Submarine System (EASSy) is likely to start early next year. The World Bank is willing to offer finance. After all, the Internet and mobile-based commerce can change people's lives. Michael Schwartz says lessons can be learnt from a predecessor.

Motorola has settled its financial and legal claims against Turkish cellular phone operator Telsim and the Turkish Savings and Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF).

Michael Schwartz commented recently on an Indian Minister's opinion that priority should be given by Indian operators to local telecoms manufacturers. Now he analyses a leading Chinese telecom vendor's demand for protection in its home market...

Cell phone ownership figures for China grow and grow. As of 30 September China boasted 377 million mobile phone subscribers, or a teledensity of 29%...

Aimed at encouraging global telecoms players to pool their ideas, Huawei’s inTouch Lab and Partnership Plan target fellow companies in the industry in order to create, on a joint basis, innovative services and applications for the future...

Five major China water resource utilities are establishing critical, real-time flood control monitoring and drought relief systems to protect against the loss of life from the catastrophic floods that hit China each year during the annual rainy season.

Fifteen West African nations have today (7 October 2005) agreed to a common regulatory framework for their national ICT markets...

Bangladesh is opening up its telecoms market by inviting open tenders for another GSM licence, for 15 years initially.