International Telecom

8/8/2019 International Telecom

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1.Softbank: No intention of taking majority

stake in Alibaba

CEO Masayoshi Son rules out any drastic realignment in itsholding.As talk swirls around about the future of Yahoo Inc. and the fate of its prized Asian asset, a 40%

stake in China's Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., the head of Japan's Softbank Corp., the Chinese

Internet giant's second-biggest shareholder with a one-third shareholding, said he has no interest

in taking a majority stake in Alibaba.

Masayoshi Son, founder and chief executive of Softbank, said it has "enough" of a stake in

Alibaba, China's biggest e-commerce company, noting that "small changes" in the size of its

stake may take place but ruled out any drastic realignment.

The ownership structure at Alibaba has moved into the spotlight in recent months because

reports about a possible deal for Yahoo and Alibaba's fraying relationship with Yahoo have

raised questions about what the U.S. Internet company plans to do with its Alibaba stake, valued

by some analysts at $10 billion.

Several private equity firms have been weighing the idea of taking Yahoo private including a

scenario under which Yahoo would join forces with AOL Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported

in October, citing people familiar with the matter.

2.SingTel Q2 net profit falls, ups dividend

payout ratio

Singapore telco's bottom line hit by lower contributions

from India, Indonesia.

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. posted an unexpected 6.8% drop in its fiscal second-quarternet profit mainly due to lower contributions from its associates in India and Indonesia, butincreased its dividend payout ratio in a bid to return some excess cash to its shareholders.

Net profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was S$891.2 million compared with S$956 million ayear earlier, SingTel said in a statement.


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3.Thaicom not confident will post net profit for

2010

Thai satellite operator sees bigger contribution to earningsfrom Indian ops in Q4.Thaicom PCL, Thailand's sole satellite operator, said that it isn't confident of posting a net profit thisyear after recording a net loss of THB621.3 million in the January-September period.

The company had hoped to post a net profit this year following a loss of THB471.2 million last year,but delays in striking deals with offshore clients prevented it from swinging back into the black.

4.Friday Review: Drinking buddies

Google makes headlines with Australian booze battle as some

telcos toast strong quarterly numbers.

Drinking a bottle of Australia's most expensive lager was one company's reaction to the settlement ofa six-month legal battle with Google.

An Australian Website dedicated to helping its users track down the cheapest alcohol in their localarea was due to launch under the in my humble opinion, genius brand name Groggle. But Googletook issue with the name, issuing a cease and desist letter in April. Groggle at first attempted to

negotiate with the Internet giant, offering to limit its trademark in various ways, "but [Google]weren't having a bar of it," Groggle founder Cameron Collie told Australia's ABC... We don't knowwhether he intended the pun.

As a result, the company settled out of court late last month, and Groggle changed its name to Drinkleas part of a settlement with Google. The rest of the arrangement is under NDA, but there have beenhints that there was cash involved.

5.Lenovo to launch LePad tablet in US next

yearChina's biggest PC maker joins rivals Dell, Samsung to take on

Apple's iPad.Lenovo Group Ltd. plans to launch a tablet computer called the LePad in the U.S. next year, Chief

Executive Yang Yuanqing said Friday, joining a growing set of companies looking to compete with


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Apple Inc.'s popular iPad in a young but growing tablet market.

China's biggest personal-computer maker by shipments is following rivals such as Dell Inc. that see

tablets as a new potential growth driver. Dell already sells a five-inch tablet called Streak and plans to

launch seven-inch and 10-inch tablets. Samsung Electronics Co. is rolling out its Galaxy Tab with

three major U.S. mobile carriers this week and next week, and Research In Motion Ltd. said this

week it will launch its PlayBook tablet, due in North America in the first quarter, for under $500.

Lenovo said pricing isn't yet available for the LePad, which it will also launch in China early next

year.

6.Telenor not planning to raise Unitech stake

CEOOperator's Bangladesh joint venture Grameenphone to share

towers with BhartiAirtel unit.Telenor ASA. has no immediate plans to raise stake in its Indian joint venture, Unitech Wireless Ltd.,a senior executive at the Norwegian telecommunications operator said Friday.

"We're comfortable with how things are," Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and chief executive ofTelenor Group, told reporters at a media roundtable."We're happy with our (existing) agreement withUnitech."

Telenor holds a 67.3% stake in the joint venture with Indian real-estate company Unitech Ltd.

Unitech Wireless added 2.5 million mobile subscribers in October, Baksaas said.

Unitech Wireless offers services under the Uninor brand in 13 of India's 22 telecom service areas andhad 11.3 million users at the end of September, according to data from the Cellular OperatorsAssociation of India.

Baksaas said Telenor's Bangladesh joint venture, Grameenphone Ltd., has entered into a tie-up withBhartiAirtel Ltd.'s unit there to share telecom tower infrastructure.


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Wind Acquisition Finance was seeking consent from more than 50% of holders of its outstandingeuro and dollar-denominated bonds, totaling EUR2.2 billion and $2.65 billion respectively. WindAcquisition Holdings Finance was also seeking support from holders of EUR325 million and $625million of payment-in-kind notes, also known as PIKs. The notes are split between 2017 and 2015maturities.

The total refinancing amounts to about EUR6.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Thisamount covers both loan and bond refinancing.

9.TDC owner NTC plans partial stake sale

Danish telco plans $1.64 billion share buyback.TDC A/S said Friday its controlling shareholder NTC intends to sell part of its stake in the companythrough a secondary offering, confirming recent speculation that the majority owner was looking tooffload its shares in the Danish telecom operator.

NTC, which is controlled by private equity firms Apax Partners LLP, The Blackstone Group,Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP, Permira Advisers KB and Providence Equity LLP, bought themajority of TDC's shares in 2005 for around $15.3 billion, including $3.3 billion in debt.

NTC said Friday it intends to sell part of its stake to Danish and international institutional investorsthrough a marketed offering of secondary shares, to realise part of its investment in TDC and giveTDC the opportunity to broaden its shareholder base.

10. 3UK, Everything Everywhere share 12,000base stations

Network sharing joint venture MBNL has switched off2,000

sites, more to follow.

3UK and Everything Everywhere's network sharing project reached a milestone on Friday, with thenumber of consolidated 3G base stations now totalling 12,000.

The combined network is the culmination of three years work by MBNL the network joint ventureoriginally established by 3UK and T-Mobile in 2007. The latter has since then merged its U.K.mobile operation with that of Orange to form Everything Everywhere.

"Network coverage and capacity is vital in providing a great customer experience so the success ofMBNL in delivering 12,000 3G sites is great news for T-Mobile customers," said EminGurdenli, vicepresident of network services at Everything Everywhere, in a statement.


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"The integration of a large number of former Orange cell sites into the network will also provideenhanced capacity and coverage to all of our customers," he said.

MBNL's network sharing project will also see the decommissioning of 5,000 cell sites, 2,000 ofwhich have already been switched off.

11. E.ON outsources IT to H-P, T-SystemsFive-year deal reportedly worth 3 billion.

German utility E.ON AG will outsource its information technology to Hewlett-Packard Co. andDeutsche Telekom AG's T-Systems in a five-year deal worth EUR3 billion, the FrankfurterAllgemeineZeitung reports in the advance release of an article to be published Saturday.

An E.ON spokesman declined to comment to Dow Jones Newswires, noting the final decision will bemade public Nov. 23. A Hewlett-Packard spokesman wasn't immediately available, and a T-Systemsspokesman declined comment.

The report says the companies reached the deal following a European Union tender attracting over 20bidders.

With EUR2 billion, Hewlett-Packard has the bigger chunk of the contract, and will take responsibilityfor the data centers and infrastructure services, the report states. T-Systems received the outsourcingcontract for telecommunication networks.

12.VimpelCom, Weather aim for deal even

without Djezzy according to the source

Shareholders agreed to 'plan B' in case of nationalisation in

Algeria.

VimpelCom Ltd.'s shareholders and Egyptian billionaire NaguibSawiris have an agreement to cement

a merger even if Algeria nationalizes the local unit of Sawiris'sOrascom Telecom Holding withoutpaying Orascom a cent, according to a person with direct knowledge of the $6.9 billion cash-and-stock deal.

The Russian, Norwegian, Egyptian and the other major shareholders went into the telecom deal withtheir "eyes wide open" about the risks of nationalization in Algeria, and they agreed to a 'plan B,'committing them to work toward a merger even without Algerian unit Djezzy, said the person withdirect knowledge, who requested anonymity. He declined to comment further.


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"We are still working on the deal" and Algeria probably won't be the "deciding factor" for sellingSawiris' approximately 50% stake in Orascom to VimpelCom, Orascom Telecom Chief ExecutiveKhaledBishara told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.

13.Telefonica profit more than doubles on Latin

America

Vivo acquisition boosted Spanish telco's bottom line; just

missed expectations due to taxes.

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica SA said its third-quarter net profit more than doubled as

accounting adjustments and revenue growth in Latin America offset weak Spanish operations, and itreiterated its main targets.

Madrid-based Telefonica, Europe's second-largest telecommunications company by market valueafter U.K.-based Vodafone Group PLC, said third-quarter net profit grew to EUR5.06 billion fromEUR1.88 billion a year earlier, missing analysts' projections of EUR5.29 billion due to fallingrevenue in Spain and higher-than-expected corporate taxes.

Telefonica recently purchased Portugal Telecom SGPS SA's stake in Vivo Participacoes SA in order

to take full control of the Brazilian cellular company and merge it with fixed-line telecommunications

firm Telesp, bulking up its operations in the coveted, high-growth Brazilian market. To buy out

Portugal Telecom's 30% stake in Vivo, Telefonica was forced to raise its offer several times, toEUR7.5 billion from EUR5.7 billion.

14.BT ups profit, free cash flow guidance after

strong quarter

Global Services, broadband business boost BT; EBITDA to hit

2 billion by 2011.

U.K. telecommunications firm BT Group PLC Thursday posted strong earnings that beat marketexpectations and raised its guidance, as a mix of faster Internet speeds and the recent addition of SkySports attracted more customers.


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Under the contract, IBM will deliver enterprise resource-planning, or ERP, software fromGermany's SAP AG to run the hospitals' finance and logistics systems. The software will replacea hodgepodge of ERP systems among the hospitals, according to IBM, and is expected to givethe hospitals more efficient ways to exchange health data while better coordinating financial andadministration functions.

The contract will contribute to both IBM's software and services divisions, two of its largest.Overall, health-care and life-sciences sectors contribute about $4 billion annually to IBM,according to a spokeswoman. In 2009, IBM earned $13.4 billion on $95.8 billion in revenue.

The news comes as nations around the world struggle to contain soaring health-care costs.

The new ERP system will make it easier for Norway to create and deploy a national electronicmedical-record, or EMR, system, IBM said. The tech giant hopes to bid on that project sometimenext year, once Norway puts the EMR system out to bid.

The European market for health-care IT is valued at upwards of $15 billion, while the U.S. isexpected to exceed $24 billion by 2015.

17.Italy regulator trims unbundling tariff

increases

AGCOM reviews planned fee rise following EU request.Italy's telecommunications regulator AGCOM will raise unbundling tariffs in 2011 and 2012 byless than previously planned following a request from the European Commission.

The commission last month asked the Italian regulator to review the tariffs, which Italy's largesttelecoms group Telecom Italia SpA charges its rivals to access its fixed-line network, saying ithad applied the pricing model inconsistently.

Alternative operators, including FastWebSpA and Vodafone Group PLC's Italian unit, hadcomplained that AGCOM's proposed tariff increases could hamper competition and discourageinvestment in new broadband technology.


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The new increase approved by AGCOM is EUR0.12 lower than previously proposed for 2011,bringing the tariffs to EUR9.02 a month; and EUR0.20 lower for 2012, when the tariffs willreach EUR9.28 a month.

However, there was no change in the planned increase to unbundling tariffs for 2010, and thecurrent tariff of EUR8.49 a month will be raised to EUR8.70 a month.

18.Stockholm presents data-storage bill,

hopes to avoid EU fine

Sweden late to comply with data retention law over privacy concerns.

Sweden's government wants an EU-backed law obliging telecom and Internet operators to storetraffic information for at least six months, Justice Minister Beatrice Ask said Thursday.

The European Commission has filed a complaint against Sweden for not yet complying with the2006 European Union directive on data retention, and Ask said she hopes the draft law will helpthe Scandinavian country avoid massive fines.

The government proposal would require all operators to store information on subscribers,including whom they contact, how long the conversation lasts and their location at the time, forat least six months.

"But the contents of the communications will not be permitted to be stored," Ask told reportersin Stockholm, adding that only police investigating "serious crimes" would have access to theinformation.

"Such information is very useful in crime-fighting," she said.

Sweden had been dragging its feet on the matter due to concern over how storing traffic datawould impact privacy.

19.In brief: Brazil Universo Online doublesQ3 net profit

Internet provider saw 54% EBITDA rise.


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Universo Online SA, Brazil's largest Internet provider by revenue, posted a third-quarter netprofit of 40.1 million Brazilian reais ($23.4 million), up from BRL20.1 million a year earlier, thecompany said late Thursday.

The company attributed the higher net profit to the rise in revenue.

Net revenue increased to BRL206.1 million from BRL174.5 million.

UOL posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of BRL51.1 millionfor the third-quarter, up 54% from the year-earlier period.

20.Telefonica profit more than doubles on

Latin America

Vivo acquisition boosted Spanish telco's bottom line; just

missed expectations due to taxes.

Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica SA Thursday said its third-quarter net profit more thandoubled as accounting adjustments and revenue growth in Latin America offset weak Spanishoperations, and it reiterated its main targets.

Madrid-based Telefonica, Europe's second-largest telecommunications company by market valueafter U.K.-based Vodafone Group PLC, said third-quarter net profit grew to EUR5.06 billionfrom EUR1.88 billion a year earlier, missing analysts' projections of EUR5.29 billion due to

falling revenue in Spain and higher-than-expected corporate taxes.

Telefonica recently purchased Portugal Telecom SGPS SA's stake in Vivo Participacoes SA inorder to take full control of the Brazilian cellular company and merge it with fixed-linetelecommunications firm Telesp, bulking up its operations in the coveted, high-growth Brazilianmarket. To buy out Portugal Telecom's 30% stake in Vivo, Telefonica was forced to raise itsoffer several times, to EUR7.5 billion from EUR5.7 billion.


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21.Argentina's GrupoClarin Q3 net profitrises 29.6%.

Sales driven by growing revenue from cable TV,

Internet access ops.

Argentine media group GrupoClarin SA (GCLA.BA) said Thursday that its third-quarter

net profit rose 29.6% thanks to higher sales and better margins.

Net profit was 134 million pesos ($33.8 million), up from ARS103.4 million in the third-quarter of 2009, the company said in a press release.

Sales rose 19% to ARS1.99 billion led by growth in revenue from cable TV, Internetaccess, broadcasting and programming.

Cable TV and Internet access accounted for 61% of the company's overall sales.GrupoClarin's cable TV subscribers in Argentina rose 1.5% on the year to 3.14 million atthe end of September, while Internet subscribers increased 13% to 1.1 million.

22.Brazil's Telesp Q3 net profit up 7.2%

Telefonica unit reports $227 million profit due to increase in

local service revenue.

Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo S.A, or Telesp, late Wednesday reported a third-quarter net

profit of 647.4 million Brazilian reals ($227 million), up 7.2% from a year ago.

Telesp, which is controlled by Spain's Telefonica S.A., attributed the rise in its net profit to an

increase in local service revenue, among other factors. The company reported net profit of


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BRL604.1 million in the third quarter of 2009.

In the third-quarter, net revenue was BRL5.38 billion, up from BRL5.36 billion a year earlier.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, fell 10%

to BRL1.29 billion. The company posted an Ebitda margin, considered a key indicator of

profitability, of 32.6%, down from 36.8%.

23.Global handset sales up 35% in Q3,

Android skyrockets

Apple moves above RIM in worldwide handset rankings,

according to new figures from Gartner; Android takes

number two spot in smartphone platforms.

Global mobile phone shipments reached 417 million units during the third quarter, according tofigures published by Gartner on Wednesday, a 35% upsurge from the third quarter of 2009.

Nokia held on to top spot, shipping 117.5 million devices, however, its market share slipped to28.2% in Q3, down from 36.7% a year earlier (see table 1).

Apple and HTC were the biggest movers. The iPhone maker overtook RIM to become the

fourth-largest handset maker in the world after it shipped 13.5 million devices, giving it a marketshare of 3.2%, up from 2.3% in the year ago quarter. HTC saw its market share rise to 1.6% shipping 6.5 million phones from 0.9% in the third quarter of 2009 when it shipped 2.7 millionphones.

Of the top five global handset makers, Apple was the only one to grow its market share.

"This is the third consecutive double-digit increase in sales year-on-year, indicating thatconsumer demand is healthy," said Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi, in a

research note.

The high profilesmartphone segment saw arecord third quarter with 81million units shipped,according to Gartner, up96% on last year (see table2), accounting for 19.3% of


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total mobile phone shipments.

Symbian still leads the way with 36.6% share of the smartphone operating system (OS) market,although this was down from 44.6% in the third quarter of 2009.

24.Vivo Q3 net profit almost doubles

Brazilian operator posts profit of $354 million as revenues

grow.Brazil's leading cellular operator, Vivo Participacoes, Wednesday said third-quarter net profitalmost doubled due to an increase in revenue and a reduction in financial expenses.

Vivo reported third-quarter net profit of 601.8 million Brazilian reals ($354 million), up fromBRL332.7 million a year ago.

Vivo's third-quarter net revenue rose 10.4% to BRL4.6 billion from BRL4.17 billion.

The company's financial expenses totaled BRL63.5 million in the period, down from BRL98million in the third quarter of 2009.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, wasBRL1.54 billion, up from BRL1.39 billion.

The Ebitda margin, a measure of profitability over net revenue, was 33.4% in the quarter, thesame level reported in the year-earlier period.

Vivo is jointly controlled by Spain's Telefonica SA.


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25.Telecom Italia gets compensation for

Bolivia expropriation

Italian incumbent receives $100 million in compensationafter Bolivian government took back its stake in Entel.Telecom Italia SpA has received $100 million in compensation from Bolivia for its stake in thelocal telecommunications operator that was expropriated two years ago.

It said Monday it reached on Nov. 5 an agreement with the government and Entel Bolivia, theoperator, to resolve the dispute over the expropriation of its 50% stake in Entel.

It expected to record a gain of about EUR30 million as a result of the settlement, which involvedETI, a Dutch company that it indirectly controls. Also known as Euro Telecom International NV,

ETI held the stake in Entel.

Telecom Italia also said it would maintain commercial relations with Entel, which had agreed tobuy international wholesale services at $16 million through a series of multi-year contracts.

ETI's stake in Entel was expropriated by leftist President Evo Morales on the grounds thatTelecom Italia had failed to meet investment commitments and owed the state millions of dollarsin fines and taxes.

Telecom Italia rejected the accusations and sought international arbitration.

ETI invested more than $600 million in the privatization of Entel in 1995.

At the time of the expropriation, Morgan Stanley analysts estimated the value of the stake atEUR234 million.

26.Internet subs approach 1.5 million in

Venezuela

CANTV claims its PC and Internet scheme has triggeredstrong growth since May 2007 privatisation.

The number of Internet subscriptions in Venezuela has more than doubled in the three and a halfyears since the nationalisation of incumbent telecoms operator CANTV.


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The country is now home to 1.46 million Internet subscribers, up from 680,000 in May 2007,CANTV announced on Tuesday. CANTV itself accounts for 606,000 of the total, up from just87,000, as a result of itsPlan de Internet Equipado, which enables subscribers to acquire a newPC and CANTV Internet connection and spread the cost over their monthly phone bill.

CANTV is the monopoly provider of ADSL services, but faces competition in the market fromcable, satellite and mobile broadband, according to Paul Budde.

However, despite the growth, Venezuela's Internet penetration remains low. Various sources putthe country's population at 27 million-plus, which leaves penetration at just over 5%.

27.Friday Review: Virtual in-Zain-ity

Etisalat aims to boost its revenues, international footprint

with Zain buy; plus the week's news highlights.Wednesday's announcement that Etisalat will take control of Zain could mark the disappearanceof the Kuwaiti mobile group from the global telecoms map.

The $12 billion deal has yet to be signed on the dotted line, but Etisalat chairman MohammedOmran said he expects the due diligence process to lead to a definitive agreement, although hedoes not expect the transaction to close any earlier than the end of Q1 next year.

The move tallies with Etisalat's assertion in its 2009 annual report that the coming year wouldsee it "focus on expanding in high-growth regions", a sentiment reiterated by Omran this week,

who commented on the "great opportunities to increase and diversify our sources of revenue,"the Zain agreement provides.

Etisalat recorded 5% revenue growth in 2009 to 30.83 billion dirhams (5.9 billion). However,75% of the total was generated in its home market, the United Arab Emirates, and that domesticrevenue was down slightly on-year, offset by 61% growth in revenues at its overseas operationsto 3.76 billion dirhams (720 million). Building on those international operations, which includeEgypt, Nigeria, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia and Pakistan - will be crucial to Etisalat's plans forgrowth going forward.

Subsuming Zain would see Etisalat extend its presence to seven new markets in the Middle East

and North Africa the deal is contingent on Zain selling off its Saudi Arabian business, sinceEtisalat and Zain run competing mobile operators there providing some significant newrevenue streams. Indeed, operations in Iraq, Kuwait and Sudan together generated revenues ofUS$3.56 billion for Zain in 2009, 40% of its total turnover, which at the time still includedAfrican operations that have since been taken over by India's BhartiAirtel.


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A new Middle Eastern, African and Asian powerhouse, with annual revenues in the 8 billionrange and operations across 20-plus markets, could have a significant impact on the globaltelecoms industry.

28.American Tower in $4

30m South Africabuy

Mobile towers company reports Q3 profit rises 39%.American Tower Corp. agreed to acquire up to 1,400 towers from South African mobile carrierCell C Ltd. for $430 million as the cell-tower operator also reported its third-quarter earningsrose 39% on increased revenue and margins.

Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Taiclet said, "Our newly established presence in South Africa

will provide us with a platform for our future growth in the region."

Under the deal, expected to close by early next year, American Tower also agreed to acquire anadditional 1,800 towers that are planned or under construction. Cell C, South Africa's No. 3mobile-phone operator, will be the anchor tenant on the purchased towers.

Cell-tower operators have benefited from volume increases as wireless carriers continue to grow,prompting them to spend more on upgrades. The company has continued its global expansion,recently launching operations in Colombia and Peru, and closing its $430 million acquisition of4,600 tower sites in India from Essar Group, boosting its portfolio in that nation nearly threefold.

29.Broadband subscribers to grow in 2H onChina demand - iSuppli

Q4 will see 17.7 million new broadband users sign up

worldwide, according to research firm.

Growing demand for high-speed Internet access in China is pushing global broadband subscribergrowth in the second half of this year, according to one technology researcher.

After a seasonal dip in the second quarter, total new worldwide subscribers for DSL, cable andfiber high-speed Internet service are forecast to have risen 5.8% to 16.5 million in the thirdquarter and will jump to 17.7 million in the fourth, according to iSuppli Corp.

"Chinese consumers' insatiable demand for high-speed Internet is so high that it will causesubscriber numbers to rise again in the second half of the year," said Lee Ratliff, seniorbroadband analyst at iSuppli.


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The country added about six million subscribers in the first quarter--its highest number ever--andtacked on another 5.4 million in the second. And iSuppli expects "no broadband slowdown" fromthe country, which is adding subscribers at a "blistering" pace.

30.Rothschild pays 500,000 reals to settle

Vivendi, GVT Brazil probe

Deal refers to firm's acquisition of shares in GVT on behalf

of Vivendi last year.Rothschild &CieBanque agreed to pay 500,000 Brazilian reais ($294,898) to settle aninvestigation it acted illegally by buying shares of GVT Holding SA on behalf of French media

company Vivendi SA, Brazil's securities regulator said Wednesday.

Vivendi purchased control of Brazilian telecommunications company GVT last November. TheFrench company surprised investors by announcing that it had guaranteed control of GVTthrough an agreement with the controlling shareholders and options contracts to buy GVT stocksfrom third parties. Through the purchases, Vivendi outflanked Spain's Telefonica SA, which hadmade a competing bid for GVT.

31.Sprint, Clearwire in dispute over

smartphone pricing

'Outcome unknown' as wholesale pricing row strains

partnership.Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. entered into arbitration on a dispute over wholesalepricing for the 4G smartphones offered by Sprint.

The issue revolves around Sprint's 4G smartphones, the HTC Corp. Evo 4G and SamsungElectronics Co. Ltd. Epic. Both can ride on Clearwire's 4G network, necessitating a payment

from Sprint. While an agreement is in place, the two companies are interpreting it differently,Mike Sievert, chief commercial officer for Clearwire, said last week.

Clearwire disclosed the dispute in the company's quarterly filing with the Securities andExchange Commission last week.

The move is the latest strain on the partnership between the two companies, who aligned to buildthe country's first fourth-generation wireless network. Along the way, the two have gotten into


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disagreements over the speed and location of the rollout, and whether Clearwire should bedirectly competing for customers in the same market.

32.Motorola Co-CEO Brown to build newidentity with solutions ops

Brand-building needed as consumer-friendly handset arm

continues to monopolise the attention.Greg Brown will have a difficult task once Motorola Inc. transforms itself into two newcompanies: ensuring the iconic name isn't just for cellphones.

For the past few years, the businesses under Motorola co-Chief Executive Brown--which include

supplying businesses and governments with public radio systems, bar-code scanners and mobile-computing devices--have kept the company afloat as its more high-profile cellphone businesswavered. But for all of Brown's successes, the more consumer-friendly side of the companycontinued to monopolize the attention.

"Obviously, we're not as well known," Brown said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswireson Thursday.

Motorola is a few months away from a radical transformation. It is poised to shed its networks toNokia Siemens Networks. Early next year, it will complete the separation that gives Browncontrol over Motorola Solutions. Co-CEO Sanjay Jha will run the second company, Motorola

Mobility, which consists of mobile devices and the home entertainment businesses.

33.Intel to lift quarterly dividend 15%

CEO Paul Otellini says chip maker on track for 'best year

ever'.

Intel Corp. approved a 14% increase in its dividend, highlighting its stability in a shakytechnology spending environment.

The higher payout underscores the Santa Clara, Calif., semiconductor giant's strong cash flowand confidence as questions arise about the broader state of technology. The move also comesahead of Intel's planned $7.7 billion all-cash acquisition of security-software maker McAfee Inc.

Intel, which already offered the largest payout among the major technology companies, will


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widen its lead when it raises its dividend in the first quarter. It is among a series of companiesraising their dividends and buying back stock as the perceived need to conserve cash hasdeclined.

Intel's quarterly dividend will rise by 2.25 cents to 18 cents a share at an added cost of about

$128 million a quarter. The company has paid out $2.6 billion in dividends through the first threequarters of the year. The company is sitting on a stockpile of roughly $15 billion in cash andshort-term investments.

34.Motorola subsidiary sues Microsoft for

patent infringement

Announcement from Motorola Mobility comes day after

parent company also sued software giant.Motorola Inc.'s Motorola Mobility Inc. subsidiary said it sued Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday forpatent infringement, just one day after Microsoft filed its second suit against Motorola in asmany months.

The mobile phone handset maker said Motorola Mobility filed suits with the U.S. District Courtsfor the Southern District of Florida and the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging infringementof 16 patents by a variety of Microsoft products, including the Redmond, Wash.-basedcompany's PC and server software, its Windows mobile software and its Xbox game-consoleproducts.

35.Cisco view sparks fear over weakening

core position

Kit maker's shares fall after weak guidance.

Cisco Systems Inc.'s lock over its core routing and switch business may be loosening andcontributing to its surprisingly weak forecast for the current quarter, which erased as much as

$24 billion from the company's market value Thursday.

The San Jose networking company blamed the disappointing estimate on broader weakness ingovernment spending as well as a slowdown in its cable business. The magnitude of theweakness and contrasting bullish comments from other suppliers, however, stoked concern onWall Street that the company may be under pressure in the routing and switch business, whichmakes up roughly half its revenue.


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36.. Ericsson gets managed service deal with

TeliaSonera

Three-year contract extension covers 29 markets, including

U.K., U.S. and Russia.

Swedish telecom network equipment vendor Telefon AB LM Ericsson said Thursday it hassigned a managed service contract with Swedish operator TeliaSonera AB.

Under the three-year extension deal, which renews and expands an earlier contract between thecompanies, Ericsson will perform field operations for TeliaSonera's networks in 29 countriesincluding Russia, the U.K. and the United States.

Ericsson will start managing TeliaSonera's services in Russia on Feb. 1, 2011 and in the other 28countries on Dec. 1, 2010.

The order value wasn't disclosed.

37.Yahoo taps Time Warner exec to lead N

American ad sales

Wayne Powers fills vacant position at Internet company.Yahoo Inc. said Wednesday it hired Time Warner Inc.'s Wayne Powers to head North Americanadvertising sales, as the struggling Internet company moved to fill an important role that has

been vacant since March.

Powers, who served as president of the Time Inc. media group, will report to Ross Levinsohn,Yahoo's incoming executive vice president of the Americas.

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