Cheaper mobile calls on the way
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Mobile phone companies in Europe must start offering cheaper rates to their customers using phones abroad.
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Regulators will tell Europe's mobile phone operators to  cut the cost of overseas texting and internet access.
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THEY are becoming increasingly popular because they are cheap. However, before you rush off to buy an Internet phone or Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, you should know that they are
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These cell-phone boosters promise more stable calls, but how much improvement can consumers expect?
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Cheap telephone calls made using broadband internet connections came a step closer yesterday when Ofcom, the industry regulator, laid out its plans to help the take-up of the new technology.
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(InfoWorld) - Mobile operators need to rethink how they price their 3G data plans to better compete with fixed-line broadband services, according to the top executive at Singaporean operator MobileOneÂ (M1). "Operators need to move forward," said Neil Montefiore, M1's chief executive officer, in a phone interview ahead of the Telecom World exhibition and conference organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Hong Kong. Last week, M1 announced plans to offer a faster 3G data service based on HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), an upgrade to WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) networks that increases download speeds from 384KbpsÂ to 3.6Mbps. That service will be available in Singapore starting Wednesday. Rather than increasing its prices with the introduction of the faster service, M1 decided to offer users of the existing service a discount. It dramatically cut the price of its 3G data plan that offers unlimited access, from S$68 (US$44) per month to S$22 per month,. In addition, M1 introduced two HSDPA data plans with unlimited access -- one offering a maximum of 1.8Mbps and another offering 3.6Mbps -- for S$38 and S$68, respectively. Mobile data services based on 3G technology are generally expensive to use, partly because operators charge for data using a per-byte or per-minute pricing model similar to voice. As a result, 3G data services primarily serve business customers who can afford the premium charges, rather than the average mobile user. "We've got to look to the future," Montefiore said. "We've got to be competitive with current fixed broadband prices." Prior to the price cut, M1 sold about 500 3G data cards each month to users who wanted mobile data access. What impact the new pricing levels will have is not yet clear, but Montefiore does not expect to see a dramatic surge in adoption. These mobile user numbers could rise, as most Singaporean broadband users are still locked into 24-month service plans for their existing broadband connections, Montefiore said. "Over time, it will be an attractive way to get online," he said, adding that M1 will offer a more detailed forecast in January when the company announces its financial results. Telecom World runs through Friday, Dec. 8.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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Mobile communications operators and banks joined forces on Monday to make it easier and cheaper for hundreds of millions of immigrants and migrant workers to send money home by using their mobile phones.
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Strata8 Networks, which officially opened its doors for business on Thursday, is offering a new twist on helping enterprises to lower their cell phone costs.The company, which has its own cellular spectrum licenses, offers enterprises cellular service inside of their corporate offices at a flat rate. Strata8 customers place a small base station in their building to provide coverage to workers using standard cell phones. The phones connect to the corporate cellular network while in the office but roam onto a commercial network elsewhere.The Bellevue, Washington, company is unique among others offering products that extend cellular coverage indoors in that Strata8 uses its own wireless spectrum. The spectrum, in the 1900MHz band, is the same kind used by most of the nationwide mobile operators and is owned by Strata8&#39;s parent company, Wirefree Partners.Enterprises pay $25 per user per month for the service, which includes unlimited calling to co-workers in the organization as well as to any other Strata8 customer. The base station connects to the enterprise&#39;s existing phone system, so long-distance and international calls cost the same as they would from a desk phone.The service should allow customers to save money by cutting back on their cell-phone service plans, according to Andy Wilson, executive vice president of marketing for Strata8. Craig Mathias, an analyst with the Farpoint Group, said many reports have shown that more than half of calls made from within offices are made over cell phones.But while calls from desk phones are generally cheaper than calls made from cell phones, companies should look at various factors to determine whether Strata8 would save them money, Mathias said. For example, some enterprises may not to be able to negotiate lower rates than they already get from their cell phone provider, so Strata8 would end up being an additional cost.Instead of Strata8, an enterprise could use a converged Wi-Fi and cellular service, where calls over the Wi-Fi networks are free and Wi-Fi access points are relatively inexpensive. However, that setup could require many Wi-Fi access points and also requires end-users to choose from just a few expensive phones currently available to work with such systems, he said.In addition, Wi-Fi networks use unlicensed frequencies and so can run into interference problems. But if an office building isn&#39;t using other equipment that might interfere, and if it isn&#39;t near other businesses using a similar system, converged Wi-Fi and cellular services should work well, Mathias said. Still, Strata8&#39;s offering is a clever idea that could work well for some enterprises, he said.The base stations that Strata8 uses, called pico cells, are made by UTStarcom and use the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile technology. Enterprises must pay for the pico cells; Strata8 said the price varies depending on the site.One pico cell could cover a 10,000-square-foot building, but all structures present different challenges, Wilson said. Some deployments might require additional repeaters to extend coverage. Strata8 will hang the equipment for customers or train IT managers to do it themselves.Strata8 is in final negotiations on a roaming deal with a cellular operator, but Wilson said he couldn&#39;t reveal which one. Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel have nationwide CDMA networks.For now, end-users can choose from just five phones that work with the Strata8 system, including the Moto Q, Treo 700wx, Razr V3 and two HTC handsets. While any CDMA phone will work in theory, these selected phones support roaming between the Strata8 and the wide area cellular network.Other companies such as RadioFrame, also from the Seattle area, sell pico cells that help improve cellular coverage for enterprises. However, Strata8 has advantages because its system connects to an existing corporate telephone system, reducing the costs of calls for enterprises, according to Wilson. In addition, because Strata8 is using its own spectrum, it was able to set the flat rate monthly fee, he said.Strata8&#39;s service is available in some cities on the U.S. Virgin Islands and regions of nine states including Florida, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The company said it has a few customers already but declined to reveal their names.
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Speculation is mounting that Sprint will provide cheaper flat-rate calling plans than those announced this week by AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.
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Mobile phones are about to become the simplest and quickest way to transfer money across borders, under a deal announced yesterday by Western Union and GSM Association, the main mobile phone operators' body.
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TALK ABOUT HAVING a finger in every pie, Vodafone has come up with another software initiative to make mobile phones more advanced and cheaper to make for the business user.
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T-Mobile tests a service that offers subscribers in the Seattle area a chance to call more for less.
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Mobile services are one of the costliest items in the enterprise IT budget, so it is no surprise that businesses take note when telecoms operators that do not themselves offer mobile services promise more efficient and cost-effective mobile plans.
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Txt 0907 RIP OFF Vodafone has been charging its pay as you go customers an extra 12p for texting premium rate numbers.â¦
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In many poor and emerging countries, the lack of banking infrastructure but widespread use of mobile phones has created a business opportunity that network operators are keen to exploit.
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The popularity of mobiles packed with features is set to explode as they get better and cheaper, say analysts.
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Wireless operators need to make  mobile Internet much cheaper if they want it to become a  success that can generate extra revenues, major mobile phone  and mobile software makers said on Monday.