Samsung starts buying Infineon mobile chipset

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has started buying chipsets, a key part of handsets, from German chipmaker Infineon in a move to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm Inc. The move would help give it leverage in price negotiations with Qualcomm. Infineon’s chipset are more than 20pc cheaper than Qualcomm.

Deutsche Telecom raided on spying allegation

Prosecutors raided the Bounn headquarters of Deutsche Telekom as part of a probe into possible criminal actions by former executives during spying campaign targeting directors and journalists three years ago. The raid on Deutsche Telekom’s headquarters was meant to produce more potential evidence. The company’s current management had passed files to the authorities two weeks ago. The suspicion that the former state telecoms group might have breached stringent privacy laws has scandalized the nation. The present Duutsche Telecom’s chief executive Rene Obermann has admitted that he knew of illegal monitoring of phone records before it became public but was not involved and kept silent in the company’s interests. Recently, Duutsche Telecom said that it had uncovered the illegal monitoring in 2005 of phone call records amid claims that the management had spied on rebel directors and journalists to find out who was leaking information to them. Mr Obermann was named as chief executive in November 2006.

Tata Comm in pact with Etisalat

Tata Communications has signed an MOU with UAE based Etisalat to provide enterprise grade network services in UAE. The two companies would provide Ehernet services, a protocol necessary for controlling data transmission over a local area network, and other connectivity. Earlier this year, Tata communication had announced the expansion of its Global VPN service to China through an NNI (Network to Network Interface) agreement with China Enterprise Netcom Corporation Limited (China Entercom or CEC).

Vodafone to pay over $2 bn for mobile license in Qatar

Vodafone will pay over $2 bn for its second mobile license in Qatar, where its unit would also launch a IPO by November. Vodaphone/Qatar Foundation Consortium will pay a fee of 7.716 billion Qatar rials (about $2.1 billion) for the second mobile license in the country. The shareholding structure of the Licensee Company will include Vodafone/Qatar Foundation Consortium (45pc)., public shareholders through an IPO (40pc), and Government/Qatari Institutional Shareholding (15pc). The new licensee will launch services on the first quarter of 2009.

Smartphone with Google operating system set rival iPhone

British chipmaker ARM has unveiled a prototype mobile phone that will use the operating system Android, launched by Google last November. The unbranded prototype handset demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona features an internet browser, map software, multimedia applications, text messaging, calendar functions, email and other cell phone functions. Tipped to rival Apple’s iPhone, ARM’s prototype uses Google as its web browser home page, Google Mail as its email application, and Google Maps for navigation. The first Android-based mobile phones are expected to be launched in the market later this year. Android is being backed by an alliance of more than 30 mobile phone operators, handset makers, software firms and component manufacturers.

Verizon in talks to buy Alltel for about $27 bn

Verizon Wireless is close to scaling a roughly $27 bn deal to buy rural mobile service provider Alltel Corp, aiming to overtake AT&T Inc as the top US wireless service. As part of the deal, Verizon would take on about $23 bn of Alltel debt, which was incurred a part of the leveraged buyout of the small wireless company by private equity firms TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners last November. GS Capital is a unit of Goldman Sachs. TPG GS Capital just seven months before had bought Alltel for $71.50 per share, or a total of $27.5 bn including the debt Alltel had on its balance sheet before the deal.

France Telecom proposes merger with Sweden’s TeliaSonera

France Telecom, in which the French government holds 27.4 pc of France Telecom has proposed a merger with Sweden’s TeliaSonera, hoping to crate the world’s fourth largest telecommunications operator. France’s dominant telecoms operator stopped short of a formal offer, but suggested terms that would amount to a 39 pc premium on shares of TeliaSonera based on their April 15 closing price – the day before the first information of the planned deal was published. The ‘indicative proposal’ has been sent to the board and the two largest shareholders of TeliaSonera – Swedish government which owns 37.3 pc (and has announced plans to sell its stake) and Finland’s government which owns 13.7 pc. The preliminary offer estimated at approximate $41 billion would involve a mix of cash and shares – with the cash part equivalent to 63 Swedish krona (euro6.76 or US$10.43) per share, and the stock portion based on an exchange ratio of three newly issued France Telecom shares for every 11 TeliaSonera shares. The merger, if completed, would create the world’s No 4 telecom operator, with 237 mn subscribers and holding in developed and emerging markets.

Intel bullish on WiMax investments

Intel Corporation is investing heavily in WiMax in hopes of getting the networked world to switch to the super high-speed wireless technology within a few years. Intel Capital, the chip maker’s investment arm, is building the WiMax ecosystem globally. Intel recently disclosed a $1 billion investment in Clearwire Corporation, a wireless broadband Internet service provider in which it has previously put more than $600 mn. In May, Intel invested about $15.4 mn in Green Packet, a Malaysian WiMax company. It also paid about $26 mn for a piece of spectrum in Sweden’s 2.6 GHz band, to ensure WiMax’s rollout in the country. In the US, Intel will begin selling WiMax-enabled notebook computers in the second half of 2008. Intel invests like a venture capital firm and recovers its money by selling the startup or taking it public. But typically, it chooses to put money in companies that will drive demand for its products, or hasten the adoption of new technology, especially in developing countries. Intel is likely to invest in two Indian forms offering specialized WiMax and conventional WiFi products this year. Intel’s $250 mn Intel India Technology Fund was announced in telecom and wireless applications apace which includes companies such as Beceem, Hellosoft and Telsima. Intel has so far carried out over 280 fixed and mobile WiMax trials and commercial deployments in 110 countries.