The Russian telco Tele2 is expected to apply for a licence which would allow it to begin offering cellular services in Moscow. Local website CNews says Tele2 is keen to begin operating in the capital and discussions between the Swedish-owned firm and new Minister of Mass Media and Communications, Igor Shchegolev, are likely to take place before the end of the year. Tele2 claims 9.3 million subscribers on its GSM networks across Russia. It won additional regional licences in government spectrum sales in 2007 but it still lacks a permit for the Moscow region. The cellco says it expects to spend up to USD98 million on network expansions and upgrades in Russia this year.

Telecom Italia (TI) is proposing the formation of a new entity to oversee the operation of its wireline networks unit, local newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore writes. The proposed watchdog, which would be made up of staff from both the telco and the country’s telecoms regulator Agcom, would ensure that TI meets commitments guaranteeing competitors equal access to its infrastructure. It had been thought that the incumbent might be forced to spin off its networks unit completely; the current plan would see the networks business remain under the Telecom Italia umbrella.

Verizon Communications has reported an 11.9% rise in second-quarter net profits to USD1.88 billion as its wireless subsidiary continues to make up for poor performances in the wireline business. Revenues for the three months to the end of June rose 3.6% from USD23.27 billion in 2007 to USD24.12 billion this year. Both the wireless and the wireline units reported quarterly sales of around USD12.1 billion, but the fortunes of the two divisions were very different; while cellular service revenues were up 11.8% year-on-year, with 1.5 million net new customers added in the second quarter, sales at the fixed line unit declined 1.8% and the total number of switched access lines fell 8.5% to 38.3 million. ADSL customer numbers dropped by 133,000, though this was compensated for by the net addition of 187,000 new broadband internet customers on Verizon’s high speed FiOS fibre networks. ‘Verizon continued to grow in all key strategic areas in the second quarter, despite the economic headwinds,’ said Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg.

Sify Technologies, the Indian provider of integrated end-to-end solutions for corporate and residential users, has announced that it is to install Redline’s RedMAX products in five cities. Rollout of the network equipment has already been completed in Delhi and Mumbai, and is scheduled for installation in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chenai by the end of 2008. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Sify began deployment of WiMAX base stations back in 2007. The operator aims to offer triple-play services over its WiMAX network, as well as mobile access.

BT, the UK’s leading wireline operator, has announced the USD105 million purchase of Ribbit Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based ‘Telco 2.0’ platform company. Ribbit provides an open platform, allowing developers to create new and innovative voice applications and services by combining telephony and internet technologies. Managing director of service design at BT, JP Rangaswami, said: ‘Silicon Valley is emerging as a hotbed of telecommunications innovation. With Ribbit, not only do we extend our presence in the Valley, but we also gain a groundbreaking platform, a growing community of developers and a world-class team that share a common vision. Buying Ribbit lets us accelerate that vision.’

State-owned operator Ethiopia Telecom Corporation (ETC) has announced that the first phase of its fixed wireless and mobile CDMA2000 network has been completed, following a rollout by China’s ZTE. Initially the network will offer coverage of the Addis Ababa region, with further expansion planned to allow access for up to 2.4 million subscribers nationwide; ETC has estimated that the project will cost ETB645 million (USD66 million). The operator has also confirmed that only pre-paid services will be available on the new network, via SIM card or vouchers. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, ETC already operates a GSM mobile network and enjoys a monopoly. At March 2008 it was estimated that the cellco had two million subscribers.

Privately owned Burundian mobile operator Lacell has awarded Ericsson a turnkey contract to roll out its GSM network in the country, cellular-news reports. The deal includes the deployment of a core network, associated radio network equipment, installation, integration and training services. It is understood the initial rollout phase is already underway, and that it is expected to be completed by November 2008. Lacell Burundi’s general manager Bhupendra Bhandari is quoted as saying ‘We are delighted to be working with the world’s leading telecommunications vendor because it gives us a significant competitive advantage in the Burundian market … It was also a comparatively easy decision for us to make given that time-to-market was a crucial factor and Ericsson has such an outstanding, proven track record with regards delivering and deploying networks.’ According to TeleGeography’s Globalcomms database, Lacell was awarded its licence on 8 April 2007. No financial details of the Ericsson deal were provided.

Following reports earlier this month that mobile operator Wataniya Palestine was close to receiving mobile spectrum, reports from Qatari news source The Peninsula claim that an agreement has now been reached. Official confirmation is understood to have come from the Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology (MTIT), stating that spectrum is to be released to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which will in turn allocate spectrum to Wataniya. Following the release of spectrum, construction and commercial launch of mobile services will be possible. No confirmed dates for release of the spectrum have been announced however.

A statement from the Belgian Institute of Postal services and Telecommunications (BIPT), the national telecoms regulator, has announced that leading mobile operator Belgacom will be fined EUR3.09 million (USD4.85 million). The penalty comes as a result of the operator’s failure to pass on lower mobile termination rates to customers, following regulator rulings in October 2006 and May 2007. The BIPT had previously warned Belgacom in January of this year that it must comply, but the lower rates were not fully implemented until July 2008. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Belgacom is currently has 42.5% market share of the Belgian wireless market via it wholly owned subsidiary Proximus, ahead of rivals Mobistar and BASE.

Celtel Zambia, one of Kuwait-based Zain Group’s African subsidiaries, has set aside USD70 million for upgrades to its network infrastructure, according to Reuters. The cellco has also revealed that it is currently in talks with the Zambian government regarding plans for the launch of commercial 3G services. Subscriber figures for the operator were also revealed, with Celtel Zambia stating that it had signed up 400,000 new customers in the six months ending June 2008, takes it total to 2.3 million subscribers. Celtel faces competition from Cell-Z and MTN Zambia in the wireless market, although it heads the market, with an estimated 77% share at March 2008.

Indotel, the Dominican telecoms regulator has announced that a new triple-play provider, handily called Triple Play, is to launch in the Dominican Republic on 1 August. The company will offer telephone, internet and IPTV services across 500 rural communities and is aiming to achieve coverage for those areas that are currently without telephone connectivity nationwide. According to TeleGeorgraphy’s GlobalComms database, the Dominican Republic boasts a telecoms infrastructure that already covers 95% of the country, with Codetel the dominant player in both the wireline and broadband markets.

BNamericas writes that Peru’s incumbent fixed line carrier Telefonica del Peru (TdP) has posted a net profit of PEN33.8 million (USD12 million) in the second quarter of 2008, down 46.5% compared to the same period of 2007. TdP saw operating revenues of PEN906 million, down 9.4% year-on-year. Revenues from local fixed line telephony services totalled PEN350 million, down 10.4% from 2Q07, while public and rural telephony services generated revenues of PEN115 million, a 31.8% drop. TdP ended the quarter with 2.37 million fixed line customers and 626,039 broadband subscribers.

Alcatel-Lucent has announced that it has been selected by GTD Group, one of the main service providers in Chile, to deploy the country’s first network based on fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) gigabit passive optical network (GPON) technology. Installation and deployment of the GPON network will start in the third quarter of 2008, initially serving residential broadband users in Santiago’s Santa Maria de Manquehue district, with other neighbourhoods of the capital following shortly after. Alcatel-Lucent’s solution will enable GTD Manquehue, which serves residential customers and small and medium businesses for the GTD Group, to deliver advanced broadband services such as high-definition television (HDTV), internet protocol television (IPTV), video on demand (VoD) and high speed internet. Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON architecture will also enable GTD Manquehue to seamlessly migrate its traditional voice services to voice over IP (VoIP).

Andinatel has announced that two tenders for the supply of broadband access equipment have been won by China’s Huawei Technologies and French-US vendor Alcatel-Lucent. Huawei will provide the telco with 24,000 wireless broadband terminals based on Wi-Fi technology and Alca-Lu has agreed to supply equipment for 36,000 fixed broadband connections. The orders will support the second stage of Andinatel’s project to expand high speed services across its 13-province footprint in the fourth quarter of this year.

The smallest of Venezuela’s three mobile network operators Digitel has announced that it rolled out a total of 80 new GSM base stations in the first six months of this year, with deployments in every state in the country. The cellco says it covers at least 85% of all communities nationwide, giving an overall population coverage of over 90%, and it is aiming to reach as near to 100% coverage as possible by the end of the year. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database says that in full-year 2007, Digitel added a total of 260 new GSM/GPRS/EDGE base stations to reach new areas and improve the quality of voice and data transmission in existing coverage zones.