Editor’s Note: Wireless operators are a busy bunch, and as such RCR Wireless News will attempt to gather some of the important announcements that may slip through the cracks from the world’s largest carriers in a weekly wrap-up. Enjoy!
–Japan’s NTT DoCoMo topped rivals worldwide in revenues last year, recording approximately $140 billion in revenues, according to a report by Infonetics Research. The Japanese operator also topped the list in capital expenditures and operating expenses for 2012.
AT&T occupied the No. 2 position with around $130 billion in revenues in 2012; followed by U.S.-based Verizon Communications at just under $120 billion; China Mobile at a touch under $90 billion; and Spain-based Telefonica Group at approximately $80 billion. Rounding out the top 10 were Germany’s Deutsche Telecom at approximately $75 billion; U.K.-based Vodafone Group at just under $75 billion; U.S.-based Comcast at $65 billion; Mexico’s America Movil Group at $60 billion; and France Telecom at $58 billion.
—Sprint Nextel has signed a deal with Spain’s Interxion to expand its wireline network presence by tapping into Interxion data center in Madrid to access potential customers in that country. Sprint Nextel currently offers MPLS services in 157 countries and Ethernet services in 147 cities around the world.
–Germany’s Deutsche Telekom selected Tail-f Systems to deliver software-defined network components for the telecom providers TeraStream project. That project is tasked with creating an all-IP network to handle expected data traffic growth across DT’s network. Terms of the deal were not released.
—Vodafone’s India operations has partnered with ICIC Bank to launch the M-Pesa money transfer and payment service. The M-Pesa offering was initially launched by Vodafone in 2007, and has since expanded to eight countries allowing customers to send and receive small amounts of money via their mobile device.
The India offering will be offered initially through more than 8,300 agents in eastern areas of India, including Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand, covering a population of around 220 million people. The service will be rolled out across the rest of India in a “phased approach.”
—Leap Wireless announced it has signed a deal with TIM Brazil to offer its Muve Music service to Brazil’s largest wireless operator. The deal calls for TIM to offer the unlimited music service to its postpaid customers for $4.95 per month and to prepaid customers for 25 cents per day. To encourage use, TIM added that it will provide a free seven-day trial.
Leap noted that since it launched the Muve Music service in 2011, it has signed up 1.5 million of its customers to the offering. The deal with TIM is its first international expansion.
–Turkish telecom provider Turkcell unveiled a mobile payment offering targeting the public transportation market, integrating the Turkcell Wallet program and Urfakart public transportation card. Turkcell noted the offering allows users to use contactless payments over their mobile devices while traveling or topping up cash or checking balances from their device.
The program can be used via smartphones running either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating system, while the contactless payment offering is compatible with devices enabled with near field communication technology. Turkcell noted that its Wallet program is currently used by 1.2 million customers.
–A cadre of domestic wireless operators have jumped onboard the Samsung Galaxy S4 bandwagon, announcing plans to begin offering the new halo device in the coming weeks. The latest to provide details on the device’s launch include Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless, Leap Wireless, and C Spire. Those operators are expected to being offering the new device later this month.
The announcements followed those by AT&T Mobility and U.S. Cellular, which had previously announced plans to begin taking pre-orders on the device. Samsung announced the new device last month as the follow up to its wildly successful Galaxy S line.
–Speaking of smartphones, domestic mobile virtual network operator Solavei said it has now begun offering a new version of Apple’s iPhone 5 supporting LTE service in the 1.7/2.1 GHz band. The move aligns the MVNO with host carrier T-Mobile USA’s recent launch of the iPhone 5 and LTE services in that spectrum band.
Solavei, which offers unlimited calling, messaging and data services for $49 per month without a contract, is selling the device beginning at $699. The company said it incentivizes customers to bring on new members using social media by providing “member commissions” of up to $20 per month for every three new customers that sign up for service. Customers can garner free service if they bring on nine new customers.
Solavei earlier this year the first to offer BlackBerry’s Z10 smartphone and more recently offering a nano-SIM option for customers with the iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S III.
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