Information Policy

Tele2, Telia line up ‘Europe’s first LTE smartphone’

Korean equipment manufacturer Samsung has revealed that the launch of Europe’s first commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) handset, the Android 2.3-based Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, is imminent on Swedish 4G mobile broadband networks. Tele2 Sweden will be the first operator to offer customers the 4G phone, followed by TeliaSonera (Telia), according to Techworld.com. TeleGeography notes that commercial LTE handset launches are also expected by around next month in Germany.

http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2012/02/17/tele2-telia-line-up-europes-first-lte-smartphone/

European Commission welcomes step forward for wireless broadband with adoption of Radio Spectrum Policy Programme

Radio spectrum supports 3.5 million jobs and more than €250 billion of economic activity each year in Europe, including incredibly popular services such as wireless broadband. The Commission therefore welcomes the European Parliament's adoption of the five-year Radio Spectrum Policy Programme (RSPP) which will allow sufficient spectrum to be made available for wireless applications and services such as high speed 4th generation (4G) wireless broadband. The RSPP also supports entertainment/culture (mobile TV or wireless electronic books), transport systems, health (such as medical appliances and devices to assist disabled persons), research, civil protection, the environment and energy (including smart energy grids and smart metering systems), without affecting the requirements of other policies such as defence.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/141&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Google near launch of cloud-storage service

Google Inc. is close to launching a cloud-storage service that would rival one of Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups, cloud-storage provider Dropbox Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. Like Dropbox, Google's storage service, called Drive, is a response to the growth of Internet-connected mobile devices like smartphones and tablets and the rise of "cloud computing," or storing files online so that they can be retrieved from multiple devices, these people said. Drive allows people to store photos, documents and videos on Google's servers so that they could be accessible from any Web-connected device and allows them to easily share the files with others, these people said. If a person wants to email a video shot from a smartphone, for instance, he can upload it to the Web through the Drive mobile app and email people a link to the video rather than a bulky file. The Google service, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks or months, will be free for most consumers and businesses. Google will charge a fee to those who want to store a large amount of files, the people familiar with the matter said. Google's Drive service also would rival Apple's iCloud, which lets people store data online but only can be accessed through Apple devices.

http://www.ejc.net/media_news/google_near_launch_of_cloud-storage_service/

Dutch digital TV penetration reaches 72.9%

Digital television now reaches 72.9% of all Dutch homes, according to the latest Media Standard Survey from TNS NIPO. A total of 35% own a hard disc recorder. Digital TV penetration rose from 69% in the first half of 2011 to 72.9% at the end of 2011. Interestingly, the percentage of digital TV for the main set (living room) is just 68.4%. This lower percentage might be explained by the fact that people buy a DVB-T tuner for second or third TV sets.  The average number of TV sets in Dutch homes is 1.7. In terms of reception, digital cable leads (on all TV sets in the home combined) with 51.1%, followed by analogue cable (48.9%), DVB-T (Digitenne) with 10.5% and satellite DTH with 5.4%. IPTV connection stand at 4.8% and 2.3% have FTTH (fibre). The numbers cannot be added together, as homes might have different ways of receiving television on different TV sets across the home.

UK broadband speeds increase by 22 per cent

By Dan Worth

UK COMMUNICATIONS REGULATOR Ofcom has revealed that average UK broadband speeds are 22 per cent faster than they were 12 months ago.

The average connection speed is now 7.6Mbit/s, an increase from 6.8Mbit/s in May 2011 and 6.2Mbit/s in November 2010.

But four out of ten households have yet to upgrade to faster packages, despite minimal cost increases in doing so, Ofcom added.

The regulator's chief executive Ed Richards welcomed the speed increases and said Ofcom expects even higher average speeds in the coming years as firms such as Virgin and BT upgrade their services.

"There is a real opportunity for consumers to look at the packages and deals in their area in order to receive the best value, speeds and performance available to them," he said.

"We can look forward to further increases in UK broadband speeds over the next few years."

Ofcom's latest report also provided insight into the average speeds achieved by customers on some of the nation's major ISPs, including BT, Virgin Media and Sky, with Virgin once again performing well.

Ofcom found that Virgin's up to 10Mbit/s service offers an average speed of between 9.3Mbit/s and 9.6Mbit/s while its 50Mbit/s service ranged between 47.4Mbit/s and 48.8Mbit/s.

By contrast BT's up to 20Mbit/s service achieved between just 7.8Mbit/s and 9.7Mbit/s. Its 40Mbit/s offering delivered between 35.4Mbit/s and 36.7Mbit/s.

Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media said the increasing speeds being achieved by consumers demonstrated the health of the UK's broadband market.

"More and more people are choosing fibre optic broadband and making the most of superfast speeds. It's good to see broadband speeds moving in the right direction," he said.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2143554/uk-broadband-speeds-increase-22-cent Despite the increasing speeds the UK is still a long way from achieving its goal of being the fastest broadband nation in Europe by 2015.

Germany catches up in broadband penetration

Germany has considerably caught up in the share of households using broadband lines to surf the net. Almost four out of five households (78 percent) now use high-speed access to go online, according to German industry association BITKOM. The number of broadband subscriptions has more than quadrupled since 2004 and now amounts to 31 million. This puts Germanyinto rank 6 among European countries. "The government's broadband strategy and network operators' billion euro investments have made it possible for Germany to climb to one of the top positions in broadband usage," BITKOM CEO Bernhard Rohleder said in Berlin. "Also contributing to the increased usage were decreasing prices while bandwidths went up." According to Germany's Federal Network Agency Bundesnetzagentur, the country's telecommunications providers invested more than EUR 93bn between 1998 and 2010 into the expansion and upgrading of their networks. Fast internet lines with a data rate of at least 1 Mbps are now available to more than 99 percent of German households. Through the upgrading of mobile networks with the new LTE standard, the last gaps in the broadband coverage are to be closed. The second step will see the development towards higher speeds being enforced. In 2014, 75 percent of all German households are expected to have access to a data rate of least 50 Mbps.

http://www.ejc.net/media_news/germany_catches_up_in_broadband_penetration/

Hungary Moving Back Into Telecommunications Sector

By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN

BERLIN — Since Europe deregulated its telecommunications industry in 1998, most E.U. governments have gotten out of the business. Britain unloaded BT, for example, the Netherlands ditched KPN and Spain sold Telefónica.

But Hungary is going in the other direction. The country, an E.U. member already under fire for laws restricting media freedom and the independence of its central bank, is seeking to get back into the mobile phone business as a telecommunications operator.

The Hungarian telecommunications regulator is poised to award a mobile phone operator’s license to a consortium of three state-owned companies in an auction that ends Jan. 31.

The move has angered the three existing telecommunications operators — Magyar Telekom, the former monopoly that is 59 percent owned by Deutsche Telekom; Telenor Hungary, a unit of the Norwegian operator; and Vodafone Hungary. These operators fear the creation of a formidable rival that will upset what has been a relatively stable market.

Representatives for the operators declined to comment publicly, citing the Hungarian government’s ban on public communication before the results are announced. But two people close to the operators with knowledge of their plans said the private carriers were wary of the government’s actions.

More:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/technology/hungary-moving-back-into-telecommunications-sector.html

Telecommuting still not computing in Hungary

Only 8% work from home

Hungary ranks last among 24 advanced and emerging economies when it comes to options for working from home, according to an online survey by market researcher Ipsos of employees who could be remotely connected to their workplace.
Only 8 per cent of respondents said they "telecommute" using stationary or portable computers, email, phone or online chat to work from home. Of these only 1 per cent regularly do so, 2 per cent occasionally in the evenings or on weekends, 3 per cent several times a week and 2 per cent once or twice a week.
The survey found that over a third of respondents would be willing to work from a remote location if their employer gave them the opportunity, though a further 19 per cent said their job requires them to be at the workplace at all times.

28% in Great Britain

Other European countries surveyed have a higher proportion of telecommuters in the workforce, including Germany and France with 12 per cent, 28 per cent in Great Britain and 31 per cent in Poland. The number of telecommuters in the US and Japan is also higher, at 26 and 18 per cent respectively. Emerging economy India's low rate of internet access produced a high figure of almost 82 per cent of its online workforce being able to telecommute.

Understand benefits

Regarding the pros and cons of telecommuting, Hungarians are among the most likely to agree that greater opportunities to work from home can help to keep talented women in the workforce instead of leaving temporarily or entirely to raise children. The same proportion of respondents, 51 per cent, agreed that telecommuting reduces stress by limiting the time spent commuting, though only 41 per cent said it improves the balance between work and family.
Asked whether telecommuters are more productive than those working at an office, one in four agreed. Concerns that telecommuting may increase social isolation, or undermine chances of a promotion, did not feature prominently among respondents in any of the countries surveyed.
With 62 per cent of Hungarians using the internet, the country is below the EU average of 67.3 per cent but closer to the EU's most connected member - Sweden, with 92 per cent - than to its least connected member - Romania, with 35.5 per cent.

http://www.budapesttimes.hu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23067&Itemid=219

Estonia Reaches Finland's Domain Registration Level

Estonia has reached the level of Finland in the number of registered internet domains it has relative to its population.

Both countries currently have 50 national domains registered per 1,000 inhabitants.

In 2011, Estonia's dot-ee domain saturation passed those of Latvia and Lithuania, where the figure for each currently stands at 43.

Because of the nation's increasing domain registration activity, the Internet Foundation will lower the price of registering a dot-ee domain by 6.5 percent to 17 euros, effective May 1.

"We should definitely make an effort to make a dot-ee domain owned by every person in Estonia actively using their e-mail and the internet," Marek-Andres Kauts, head of the foundation.

http://news.err.ee/fe76f0c9-e678-4722-bbe1-a42796312d18

Deutsche Telekom, Lattlecom create route linking Russia, Western Europe Read more: Deutsche Telekom, Lattlecom create route linking Russia, Western Europe

Deutsche Telekom's (XETRA: DTE.DE) wholesale unit, International Carrier Sales & Solutions (ICSS), has struck a pact with Latvian wireline provider Lattlecom to jointly build a new multi-country fiber network.

Designed to support the growing Internet traffic demands between Western Europe, and particularly Russia and the Baltic States, the new Baltic Telecommunications Highway network will support transmission speeds up to 10 Gbps and low latency.

"The Baltic states as well as Russia have witnessed a substantial surge in demand for network connectivity, and through the Baltic Highway we will jointly provide enhanced connectivity for the region," said Holger Magnussen, senior vice-president of Deutsche Telekom International Carrier Sales & Solutions.

Outside of their own home countries, Deutsche Telekom ICSS and Lattlecom will build complementary network facilities in both Poland and Lithuania.

Upon completion, Juris Gulbis, Lattelecom's Management Board chairman and CEO, said that the Baltic Telecommunications Highway will give "Russian and other neighboring state telecommunications operators with the geographically shortest route for data flow to Europe and the rest of the world."

http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/deutsche-telekom-lattlecom-create-route-linking-russia-western-europe/2012-01-25