AT&T asks the FCC to set a schedule for landline phaseout in US
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
In a response to a Notice of Inquiry by the FCC, put out earlier this month on how to move to an all Internet Protocol phone system, America’s telecom incumbent AT&T points out that with regards to the market irreversible trends, it is time for the agency to set a schedule for the landline switch-off deadline. Indeed, the telco argues that “Due to technological advances, changes in consumer preference, and market forces, the question is when, not if, POTS service and the PSTN over which it is provided will become obsolete”
As a matter of fact, in the last decade, the landline segment has been facing fierce competition from VoIP and wireless services making its revenues shrink from $178.6 billion in 2000 to $130.8 billion in 2007. Worse than that, AT&T noticed that 700,000 landlines are being dropped every month whereas 18 million or so households now subscribe to Skype, Vonage, and other VoIP operators.
So after being a flagship product for AT&T for over a century, POTS and PSTN are now to face a gloomy future, and this move could raise many questions about unbundling and the Universal Service Fund the FCC should have to deal with during the transition to an all-IP telephony.
Irdeto and Humax develop a new HD STB for the middle-east
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Leading content and business model protection company Irdeto has announced yesterday that it has partnered with global set-top box manufacturer Humax, to develop the first secure high definition set top box (HD STB) for the Middle East region. The STB will feature Irdeto’s market-leading conditional access system (CAS) offering a state-of-the-art hardware platform, software technology and cryptography, secure chipset, and SIM cards for the control of operator subscriptions. The Humax HD STBs directly target content piracy in the region where businesses lose $50 billion annually as a result of hackers.
By incorporating Irdeto’s cutting-edge CAS within the HD STBs operators can protect their content against theft or control word sharing piracy via the Irdeto Premium smart card, capable of rapid software updates over the air and featuring built-in mechanisms for prevention against card attacks. This unique anti-piracy method is especially critical in regions with an extreme number of hackers as it enables Irdeto to effectively thwart pirate attempts quickly in all susceptible markets.
Tae-Hun Kim, Senior VP, Head of Marketing Division at Humax, comments; “In response to the rapidly growing piracy problem across the Middle East, [read more] …
Hutchinson sell CDMA business to CAT Telecom in Thailand
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Hutchinson has agreed to sell its telecom business to CAT Telecom in Thailand. This business includes CDMA cellular network.
Hutchinson and CAT have been in talk for a while on a possible joint venture. Hutch-CAT provides the CDMA network on 25 provinces and CAT also provides 51 other provinces on its own CDMA network. Thus, the combination of the two network will provide a nationwide service.
Greece’s Antenna to buy News Corp’s Serbian stake
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Greek media group Antenna said on Monday it agreed to buy the 49 percent stake that News Corp owns in private Serbian television operator Fox Televizija, according to Reuters.
Fox Televizija has a 9 percent share of Serbia’s television market, Antenna’s chief executive officer Thodoris Kyriakou said in a press release without revealing the transaction’s value.
“Antenna Group’s decision to expand into Serbia is based on the conviction that it is a rapidly developing television market,” the Greek company said in the same statement. The deal is subject to approval by Serbia’s competition watchdog.
Antenna last year sold its Bulgarian unit Nova Televizia.
