Americas

RCR Wireless News attended the TM Forum Management World Americas 2011, the industry’s communications management conference, held in Orlando, Fla., earlier this month and interviewed some of attendees and speakers. …

Telefónica Digital and the BlackBerry‘s manufacturer Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) are conducting a pilot program on using near field communications (NFC) with plans to launch the service …

As previously announced, Google is ending several services, such as its ambitious collaboration tool Wave, medical records engine Google Health, Twitter competitor Google Buzz, Wikipedia-like aggregate Knol and PC file-searching …

Ronaldo Miranda, Advanced Micro Devices’ (NYSE: AMD) president for Brazil and Latin America’s vice president since March, is celebrating. “We started 2011 with 7% of market share in laptops and consumer verticals in Brazil, and now we have 20%, which is higher than our goal of 15%,” he said during a news conference Tuesday.

The Brazilian carrier Vivo, owned by Spanish Telefónica, has had its commercial launch of the first HSPA+ network in Brazil. The telecom operator said Tuesday that it has deployed the …

Carlos Slim’s América Móvil and AT&T Inc., the largest U.S. telecommunications company by revenue, signed a memorandum of understanding to deliver enhanced communication services to multinational companies throughout Latin America and to so-called multilatinas around the world.

Brazilian carrier Oi (TNE) is expanding its business in neighboring Paraguay, where the Paraguayan National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) has authorized Oi to begin operations in the east of the country …

The number of broadband connections in Brazil reached 53.9 million in October, an increase of 68.4% compared with the same month last year, as the rate of broadband activations to more than one new access every second, Telebrasil reported.

Spanish telecom Telefónica has signed an agreement with China Unicom to use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. The agreement builds on a previous deal and extends and reinforces Telefónica’s footprint by sharing the use of points of presence on their international networks.

Although LTE trials are under way in 11 countries, there are currently no commercial launches of LTE anywhere in Latin America.

A recent study of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication (Brasscom) shows what was already known: Brazil lacks skilled workers. The country will need an additional 750,000 IT professionals to keep pace with increasing demand, Brasscom says.

Nextel’s plan to deploy 3G voice and push-to-talk services in Mexico, which was expected by the first half of 2012, may be in trouble after a Mexican court ordered the Ministry of Communications and Transportation to revoke the mobile concession awarded in October 2010.

Puerto Rico may become a pioneer in LTE networks in the Caribbean, thanks to planned offerings from AT&T and Open Mobile. AT&T has said it will launch its LTE services in six new markets Nov. 20.

Virgin Mobile Latin America has received regulatory approval from Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transportation to provide wireless communications in Mexico as a mobile virtual network operator.

Carlos Slim’s América Móvil SAB will pay $4.6 billion (or 62.1 billion pesos) to increase its stake in Teléfonos de México SAB from 59.4% to 92.8%, securing control of Telmex.

In the third quarter, Brazilian telecom operator GVT Holding, owned by French entertainment and telecom group Vivendi, saw net revenues rise 38.4% and a 50.1% increase in the number of lines in service in the customer base.

One of the most developed countries in Latin America, Chile faces very similar telecom challenges to Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Its mobile penetration surpassed one device per habitant, reaching 120.8% …

Investment in Venezuela’s telecommunications industry increased 21.7% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, reaching U.S. $220 million, said Conatel, the country’s telecom agency. However, the number of mobile subscribers dropped 3.2% from a year ago.

Ecuador has unveiled its national digital strategy, with the goal of having Internet access in place for half of the country’s households by 2015, up from a current level of 29%.

Wavion, a global provider of Wi-Fi solutions, and the integrated solutions company Leadcom have OK’d a cooperation agreement for Africa and Latin America. Wavion expects to more than double its sales in the region in 2012, coming from both operators (carriers and ISPs) and government projects such as education.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has bought $10.7 billion worth of common stock in IBM (NYSE: IBM) this year. Berkshire now owns 5.4% of Big Blue, but the 81-year-old billionaire has said he doesn’t intend to buy any more shares.

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace. Recently authorized by Anatel, the …

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers, we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say …

Smartphones were the fastest-growing handset category across Latin America, with sales of 31 million units sold and U.S. $6 billion in revenue, continuing the trend of the region’s increasing share of the global market, according to a report by consulting firm Pyramid Research.

Atos, a European information technology services company and the worldwide IT partner for next year’s Olympic Games in London, and the Chinese management software solutions Ufida International Holdings have invested U.S. $7.8 million to create Yunano, a joint venture to offer cloud services.