Google plans to roll out a new YouTube Android Player API, enabling developers to integrate native video viewing experiences directly into their Android applications. The API will support Android apps optimized for smartphones and tablets as well as the Google TV platform.
Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) will auction spectrum in the 900MHz band in an effort to attract a fifth wireless operator to the market. The ministry is inviting bidders to operate a services using the 889MHz-915MHz and 944MHz-960MHz bands in the capital Lima and the Callao province, and in 902MHz-915MHz and 947MHz-960MHz in the rest of the country. The auction is due to begin on July 24 with a reserve price of US$39.8m. A fourth operator, Vietnam’s Viettel, was licensed in 2011 but is not expected to launch commercial services until next year. The three incumbents are America Movil, Telefonica and Nextel.
The Colombian government’s planned 4G spectrum auction, previously slated for June this year, is now expected to take place on September 5, with 225MHz of spectrum up for grabs, split between four to six licences. The only LTE operator is currently state owned Une-EPM. The other three main cellcos – Claro Colombia, Movistar and Tigo – are all interested in acquiring 4G spectrum. Other bidders may include Chile’s Entel, NII Holdings, DirecTV and International Communications Network.
Huawei has reportedly sent legal notice to Indian operator Videocon Mobile, threatening to suspend support for its network due to non-payment of bills. According to Economic Times, Huawei says it is owed more than US$150m relating to a contract signed in July 2009 to supply gear and support for the start-up 2G operator.
LG Electronics has applied for the most LTE-related patents in the US. Of the 187 LTE essential patents applied for to the US Patent and Trademark Office by Q2, LG had more applications than other players, followed by Nokia and Samsung.
ABI Research’s latest forecasts for femtocells estimates largely flat shipments in 2012 relative to 2011.’ The shipments in 2012 are expected to total 2.44m units, similar to the 2.47m units shipped in 2011. In total, ABI Research estimates 5.3m units will be deployed by end 2012. “We believe there is a large inventory of femtocells sitting with operators right now with operators having a slow burn rate, which has led to limited fresh orders in the first half of 2012,” said Aditya Kaul, practice director at ABI Research. “Silicon component suppliers have suggested that 1Q 2012 shipments were down 30% to 40% compared to 1Q 2011.” The firm forecasts that growth is likely to pick up from 2013 onwards.
Chicago’s downtown area could become a gigantic Wi-Fi mega-hotspot under plans reportedly being laid out by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. A Wi-Fi zone covering all of downtown Chicago is part of Emanuel’s plan to make the city into one of the world’s most connected metropolitan centers, according to UK newspaper The Guardian.
Industry Canada’s proposed requirement that new 700MHz licensees must invest 2% of their adjusted gross revenues in eligible telecoms R&D activities is “an artifact from a previous era that is no longer appropriate or required’, according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.
Russian regulator Roskomnadzor has accepted all eight operator applications to participate in the auction of LTE spectrum in the 2.6GHz and 700MHz bands. Their proposals will be opened on July 12. The bidders are the big three cellcos – Megafon, Vimpelcom and MTS ‘ plus landline giant Rostelecom, TTK, Summa Telecom, Tele2 Voronezh and Tele2 Omsk.
Hutchison’s Hi3G Denmark unit has announced that LTE network deployment has begun in the country’s 15 largest cities. When commercial services are launched in September the network will cover 37% of Denmark’s population, and by the end of the year 800 towers in the 15 cities will provide coverage for 50% of Danes. Existing customers will be able to access its LTE network regardless of their subscription and without paying extra, as long as they have coverage and are using hardware that supports LTE.
Less than two weeks after unveiling the latest version of Android, 4.1 or Jelly Bean, Google has released the underlying sourcecode for third party modification under the
Android Open Source Project.
Acme Packet, leader in the session border controller market, has cut its predictions for the second quarter, saying that north American service provider spending has been weak. It is forecasting revenues between $66m and $68m, while analysts had looked for $73m. Non-GAAP earnings will disappoint too ‘ 12 to 13 cents per shares, says Acme, compared to Wall Street forecasts of 17 cents. This was taken as a bad omen for the quarter, particularly for vendors with heavy exposure to north American wireline carriers and VoIP.