PT Telkom said to drop $1b Pacnet takeover plan
PT Telkom has reportedly abandoned plans to acquire subsea cable operator Pacnet for around $1 billion. Telkom CEO Arif Yahya has been quoted as stating that the company has called off the deal after deciding the acquisition would not provide any added value - but that it will continue to evaluate potential fiber acquisitions in Asia.
China Mobile HK completes FDD/TD-LTE handover
China Mobile and Ericsson have performed the world's first bidirectional handover between FDD LTE and TD-LTE. The handover was performed on China Mobile Hong Kong's LTE network, using a commercial chipset from Altair Semiconductor. China Mobile Hong Kong plans to use a combination of FDD and TDD spectrum for its LTE network, but it currently uses the FDD mode.
VoLTE revenues to hit $2b by 2016
VoLTE services are expected to generate $2 billion in revenue by 2016. Research firm ARCchart believes VoLTE has the potential to lower operators' network operating costs, as well as improve voice quality, device battery life and the user experience. VoLTE is also seen among operators as a way to take on OTT VoIP providers at their own game.
Samsung wins minor victory in patent war with Apple
A Dutch court has found that Apple infringes on one Samsung 3G patent with most iOS devices, and ordered Apple to license the patent. But the court also held that the patent in question is essential, so Samsung will be required to license it on FRAND terms, and will not be entitled to seek an injunction on the back of the decision.
Healthcare to account for fifth of wearable devices
Healthcare products are set to make up a fifth of the emerging market for wearable wireless devices by 2017, ABI Research predicts. The firm expects the majority of products to be dedicated to the sports fitness and wellbeing sector, but established and start-up healthcare players will carve out a significant niche. The number of devices sold is set to grow from 20.7 million in 2011 to 169.5 million in 2017.
APAC will be home to majority of IPTV growth
Asia-Pacific is expected to account for two thirds of the remaining growth in the global IPTV market. According to Telegeography, the region's operators are uniquely positioned to grow IPTV subscribers. While North America and Europe are facing pay TV market saturation, and growth will be constrained in other markets for different reasons, APAC has a pay-TV household penetration of only 46% and IPTV penetration of just 12%.
SKT, KDDI seek international NFC collaboration
South Korea's SK Telecom and Japan's KDDI have announced plans to use the upcoming Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai to accelerate NFC collaboration between China, South Korea and Japan. SK Telecom and KDDI have been trialling NFC payment services since February last year, and commercialised a service at South Korea's Incheon Munhak Stadium in November.