Changes in France by Claudia Sonea

The French watchdog ARCEP has recently got a proposal for the fourth French 3G mobile telephony license. The proposal came from Iliad Group, which operates the Free brand. There are still some issues to be clarified before the State Council takes a decision concerning the license. Besides the operational specifications the problem concerning the rental charge and the license fee is still are to come to an agreement. Iliad Group wants to pay an annual fee for the license and not a single one of 619 milions euro. Another demand was to have access to 900 MHz frequency bands concomitantly to 2.15 GHz frequencies. Whether these demands will be accepted or not depends on the ARCEP. Although the fourth 3G mobile telephony has an action plan to launch itself on the market, there is still not sure that it will have this opportunity, at least not this year. No matter how prosperous it is for the corporation to go on the French telephony market, it is a long way to go and it will have to come to a compromise in issues concerning the payment of the license, because I don’t think the watchdog will accept the annual plan. Anyway, more than merrier! The competition grows, the prices will go down, more luring advantages for the buyers and the economy circuit will be fulfilled. I don’t see anything wrong until now, it will all benefit the French customers, so good luck to them. Keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.

related story: http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/07/30/afx3967110.html

by Claudia Sonea for SigEx Telecom (http://sigex.com)

SigEx Telecom is quickly becoming the leading telebroadcasting communications provider allowing people to easily talk, view, upload and share video clips through free online TV broadcasting, free unlimited global calls, websites, blogs, video-mails and SMS. SigEx Telecom captures many add-on services for its clients generating royalties and fees in a broad spectrum of marketing services including public relations and promotions.

Will the iPhone have it all? by Ana Maria Ciobanu

Apple's iPhone just wants to have it all...It will be a gaming platform, it helps Heart IT deliver medical images, it's an iPod, it's a great digital camera and now wants to conquer Europe and Asia Europe is very different from the USA when it comes to marketing and advertising. What Europe loves isn't so popular in USA and what's successful in USA needs a very strong campaign to get to European's buyer wallet. Apple understands this and rumors say it will introduce new versions of its iPhone. The two models that may come out soon will be a less expensive version of the beloved iPhone and will have the ability to work on 3G networks. It's a very important thing for Apple's baby. Europe and Asia are number one fans of fast broadband networks. Without fast broadband network it's almost impossible to market a cell phone to a European or Asian buyer. What can you criticize the iPhone for other than working on AT&T's slow network? Apple couldn't afford to travel to Europe and loose because a slow network. I am very curious how the iPhone will be received in Europe. I expect Asians to stand in line for it and go crazy about it but when it comes to Europe you can't tell. Apple needs to build the product's awareness here and do some teasing before releasing it to the public because besides journalists and bloggers, average buyers don't have a clue about what the iPhone is. With some good PR moves and an excellent image strategy things could work out perfect for the iPhone and I hope they do because I can't wait for it to get in Europe.

by Ana Maria Ciobanu for SigEx Telecom (http://sigex.com)

SigEx Telecom is quickly becoming the leading telebroadcasting communications provider allowing people to easily talk, view, upload and share video clips through free online TV broadcasting, free unlimited global calls, websites, blogs, video-mails and SMS. SigEx Telecom captures many add-on services for its clients generating royalties and fees in a broad spectrum of marketing services including public relations and promotions.

Taiwan news by Claudia Sonea

Talking on the phone for hours is one of my specialties and it seems I never have enough battery to do it. Since the mobile telephony was launched people all over the world show their need of communication and spend millions every year on the phone bill. But the industry developed a lot and 3G was introduced on the market. In some countries work, but in others it does not. Let’s take Taiwan for example. The National Communications Commission stated that 3G uptake is very low in comparison with other countries. The main reason, according to Taiwan Government, is that they mostly make calls and not use the mobile phones to receive data. 3G penetration rate is 14.75 percent, while in Japan is 23 percent. No wonder they say Taiwanese don’t go mad after it. Why in the world would someone have expected to be a different situation? The bandwidth is much smaller than it should have been in order for 3G and the calls and data messages are a little bit too big. It is the lack of proper phones that might be regarded as a handicap too. In time this problems will be solved, but I don’t think that will happen any time now. Small, not yet developed countries have to deal with this sort of issues. I’m talking from the Romanian experience. Until the there were more wireless telephony providers, we had to deal the same problem. Now, because of the competition, we have so many advantages and promotions that it is hard to stay away from the phone. The wallet is the key to success. Stay connected, there is more to come.

related story: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/blog/theroc/0,39066194,63000114-39066194t-10000018c,00.htm

by Claudia Sonea for SigEx Telecom (http://sigex.com)

SigEx Telecom is quickly becoming the leading telebroadcasting communications provider allowing people to easily talk, view, upload and share video clips through free online TV broadcasting, free unlimited global calls, websites, blogs, video-mails and SMS. SigEx Telecom captures many add-on services for its clients generating royalties and fees in a broad spectrum of marketing services including public relations and promotions.