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(Telecompaper) Yandex acquired SPB Software, a developer of mobile software with offices in Russia, Taiwan and Thailand. SPB offers a full suite of mobile products, including a mobile user interface engine for smartphones and tablets. With this acquisition, Yandex will start offering a key component for mobile platforms, namely a user interface configured to integrate the company’s key services. This move boosts Yandex’s opportunities to partner with the players in the mobile eco-system. SPB Shell 3D, developed by SPB Software, will be enhanced to integrate Yandex’s cloud services and technologies. In addition, users will have easy access to the company’s services, including its search capabilities featured on a wide variety of mobile devices.
if people only knew

(Telecompaper) WASACE Cable Company Worldwide has announced that a new fibre optic link will connect Africa, the Americas and Europe from early 2014, CommsMEA reported. WASACE said that ‘billion of US dollars’ are being invested in the largest project of its type ever mounted in the Atlantic Ocean. It will comprise four cables linking Africa, South America, North America and Europe. WASACE Cable Company Worldwide is a multinational development company represented by CEO Ramon Gil-Roldan of Spain. Project development will be managed by the David Ross Group in the US. Investors include the international private equity investment firm VIP Must, the African Development Bank as well as Brazilian and other investors. A spokesman for WASACE told CommsMEA that the company intends to get all four cables built by the end of the first quarter of 2014, prior to the soccer World Championship that will take place in summer 2014 in Brazil. He said WASACE will ask submarine cable vendors for proposals and will select the vendor in the first quarter of 2012. A supplier contract will be signed in the second quarter. CommsMEA said WASACE has established landing partnership agreements in several countries and is now working on the missing agreements. WASACE claims that it is the first trans-Atlantic system to deploy the next-generation 100G technology, with ten times the capacity of previous systems.
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(Telecompaper) Research In Motion unveiled the new service BlackBerry Mobile Fusion to help businesses manage their mobile devices. Based on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and providing support for smartphones and tablets running BlackBerry, Android or Apple iOS operating systems, the new service will allow IT departments to oversee the use of both company-owned and employee-owned mobile devices within their organizations. BlackBerry Mobile Fusion brings together the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (version 5.0.3) for BlackBerry smartphones, new management capabilities for BlackBerry PlayBook tablets built on BlackBerry Enterprise Server technology, and mobile device management for smartphones and tablets running Android and iOS operating systems. Mobile device management capabilities for all supported devices will include asset management, configuration management, security and policy definition and management, secure and protect lost or stolen devices (remote lock, wipe), user- and group-based administration, multiple device per user capable, application and software management, and connectivity management (Wi-Fi, VPN, certificate). BlackBerry Mobile Fusion is currently in early beta testing with select enterprise customers. RIM is now accepting customer nominations for the closed beta programme which will start in January, and general availability is expected in late March.
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(Telecompaper) The Belgian 4G auction closed with four companies winning licences, raising a total of EUR 77.79 million, regulator BIPT announced. Belgacom, BUCD, KPN Group Belgium and Mobistar were each able to secure a portion of the frequency blocks on sale. Craig Wireless Belgium, the fifth participant in the auction, was not able to acquire any frequencies. Belgacom got 2×20 MHz (FDD spectrum) for a total of EUR 20.22 million while BUCD obtained 45 MHz (TDD spectrum) for EUR 22.51 million. KPN Group Belgium got 2×15 MHz (FDD spectrum) for a total of EUR 15.04 million and Mobistar received 2×20 MHz (FDD spectrum) for a total of EUR 20.02 million. The licences will run for 15 years from 1 July 2012.
thats funny

(Telecompaper) A number of private investors are expected to make offers for Yahoo! this week, according to various reports. Private-equity firm Silver Lake is working with Microsoft to bid for a minority stake in Yahoo!, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Andreessen Horowitz, a venture-capital firm, is also weighing a possible bid for Yahoo and hasn’t decided whether to join the Silver Lake-led group, another source said. Private-equity firm TPG Capital also has signed a non- disclosure agreement to size up a possible bid, people close to the company have said. Yahoo’s advisers have asked that bids be submitted this week. Interested parties were required to sign the NDA to receive management presentations and more access to confidential financial information. Reuters reports that Thomas H. Lee Partners is interested in buying the US operations of Yahoo in a leveraged buyout which could be worth USD 5-6 billion. It would draw on its experience running other media assets such as Nielsen Co, Clear Channel and Univision to turn around the ailing company, the news wire said. Silver Lake, KKR and TPG are taking a different approach and are expected to put in bids for a stake of up to 20 percent. Reuters’ sources also said Microsoft is supporting the Silver Lake bid. Yahoo’s board is expected to meet on 29 November to assess the possibility of a minority investment.
this is bogus, who would think

(Telecompaper) Budimex, Ericsson, Telefonia Dialog and Netia signed a letter of intent on joint participation in projects to build regional broadband networks, such as the Polish Eastern Broadband Network and Internet for Mazovia. The model was proposed by Netia, which said it aims to ensure that the new network will be adapted to current requirements and avoid the risk of re-monopolisation of the market. In the joint initiative, the companies want to create optimal solutions (technical, financial, organizational and legal) that could be used by administrators of public funds, while removing the real market problems. The signatories of the letter declared their readiness to participate in tenders for construction and operation of regional broadband networks.
does anyone know when this will take effect

(Telecompaper) Network services provider NewNet Communication Technologies, a Skyview Capital portfolio company, plans to acquire the former Motorola Solutions’ Wimax business from Nokia Siemens Networks. Under the agreement, NewNet will acquire the complete Wimax product portfolio, the related employees and assets, as well as active customer and supplier contracts. Approximately 300 Nokia Siemens Networks employees will transfer to NewNet. Many of these employees are based in suburban Chicago and Hangzhou. Nokia Siemens Networks and NewNet believe this acquisition will provide transferring employees with professional growth opportunities in a technologically advanced company that has an on-going focus within their core areas of expertise. The companies expect to close the deal before 31 December. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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(Telecompaper) Samsung Electronics won a victory in its global tablet war with Apple, as a panel of judges lifted a temporary ban on sales of its devices in Australia. The full bench of the Australian Federal Court overturned last month’s court decision to ban sales there while awaiting a final hearing on Apple’s complaint of patent infringement, the Wall Street Journal reports. Because the commercial life of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 is about 12 months, the court declared, such a temporary ban would “have the practical effect of killing off” the device in Australia and “deliver Apple complete victory in respect of its claims.” Under the decision, Samsung is allowed to resume sales at 16.00 hrs Sydney time on 2 December. Apple attorney Stephen Burley told the court the company would apply to the High Court in Canberra to have this latest decision reversed and the ban restored. No date has yet been set for a final hearing in the Australian case. Separately Dow Jones reports that Apple has filed a motion in a German court seeking to bar the German unit of Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1N tablet in the European Union. Apple has requested a preliminary injunction, and the Duesseldorf regional court has scheduled a hearing on the matter on 22 December. In September the same court banned sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany after Apple accused Samsung of violating patents used in its iPad tablet. Samsung said earlier this month it would release a modified version of its Galaxy tablet computer in Germany, called the Galaxy Tab 10.1N.
wonder what this really means

(Telecompaper) US operator Verizon is bringing its digital TV service to Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console. Customers who subscribe to both Fios TV and internet service and are also Xbox Live Gold members will be able to watch live Fios channels over the Xbox 360 Entertainment System. They can also use the Xbox’s Kinect device for voice and gesture commands to control the TV service. New customers who sign up online for Fios TV service can get a special offer that includes triple-play service with TV, 35/35 Mbps internet service and Verizon voice service starting at USD 89.99 a month. In addition, the offer includes a 12-month Xbox Live Gold membership and the ‘Xbox Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary’ game. The discounted offer is available through 21 January. Fios TV customers will have access to an app on their Xbox consoles, which will become available for download next month. Once customers download the app on their console, they can begin watching live streaming Fios TV channels, without the need to pay for another set-top box. Initially, 26 Fios TV channels will be available, depending on the customer’s TV package. As part of the offer, Verizon has partnered with leading gaming network Machinima to sponsor the Gamers’ Choice Award. The award is given out at an annual event honoring the top game titles. Consumers can vote for their favorite game of the year through Facebook or Twitter, which also qualifies as entry into a sweepstakes that includes a grand prize of two years of Verizon Fios triple-play service, a multi-room DVR, a Microsoft Kinect and 40,000 Microsoft points. Daily prizes of 4,000 Microsoft gaming points will be awarded to five winners per day, from 29 November to 08 December.
if people only knew

(Telecompaper) US mobile industry association CTIA and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) announced a new rating system for mobile applications. The CTIA Mobile Application Rating System with ESRB will use the age rating icons that ESRB assigns to computer and video games to provide parents and consumers information about the age-appropriateness of applications. AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, US Cellular and Verizon Wireless are the founding members of the rating system, and other storefronts have indicated their interest in joining. Each storefront may make its own announcement on when the rating system will be available for their customers. When developers submit their applications to a participating storefront they will be able to complete a “detailed yet quick” multiple choice questionnaire that is designed to assess an application’s content and context with respect to its age-appropriateness. This includes violence or sexual content, language, substances, etc., as well as other elements such as a minimum age requirement, the exchange of user-generated content, the sharing of a user’s location with other users of the application and the sharing of user-provided personal information with third parties. Each rated app is issued a certificate and a unique identifying code that may be subsequently submitted to other storefronts, avoiding the need for developers to repeat the rating process. The ESRB also will routinely test the most popular applications and monitor consumer complaints. If an inappropriate rating is found to have been assigned ESRB will adjust the rating and notify the developer and the storefront(s) that have the application to ensure consumers have reliable information. There is no expiration date associated with app rating assignments and no renewal requirement. However, if subsequent updates to an app modify its content in a way that may affect its rating, it should be resubmitted. The system is an extension of the CTIA’s 2010 Guidelines for App Content Classification and Ratings, which was developed with a number of organizations, including the six founding storefronts.
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