India cellcos challenge order to pull towers
The lobbies representing India's GSM and CDMA operators have teamed up to challenge a court order that would require cellcos to remove all mobile towers close to schools and hospitals in the city of Rajasthan. Operators fear the case could provoke similar action in other cities.
VHA parents pledge $2b for turnaround
Vodafone Hutchison Australia owners Vodafone and Hutchison Whampoa have agreed to provide as much as A$2 billion ($2.08 billion) to support CEO Bill Morrow's turnaround plan. The company has lost 700,000 subs since the start of last year due to dissatisfaction over network problems.
Telenor likely to pull out of Mumbai by Jan
Telenor's Indian unit will shut down its operations in circles in which it has not won back spectrum by January 2013, according to group CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas. This means it is likely to pull out of Mumbai and Kolkata.
Unicom targets 140m 3G handset sales in '13
China Unicom aims to sell around 140 million 3G handsets in 2013, and estimated it currently has a 49.3% share of China's total 3G device market.
India inactive SIM cleanup may hit active subs
Indian regulator Trai has called for consultation over whether legitimate mobile customers are being caught up in operators' efforts to disconnect inactive subscribers and purge them from their books.
Asiacell plans Iraq's first post-Hussein IPO
Iraqi operator Asiacell plans to conduct an IPO early next year, the first public float for an Iraqi company since the ousting of Saddam Hussein.
Nokia hires 55-piece orchestra for ringtones
Nokia has hired a 55-piece orchestra to record 25 new ringtones, in response to market research indicating that phone users have a preference for classical music ringtones.