December 21, 2007 - France Telecom sees promise in African markets

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December 21, 2007 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Read more at SmartBrief.com News for telecom industry leaders Search recent stories:       News of the Day    France Telecom sees promise in African markets With other continents already being carved up, France Telecom is establishing a beachhead in Africa, where low mobile-penetration rates and a rapidly growing population offer enormous potential for telecom companies that face a saturated market in Western Europe. France Telecom secured deals in Kenya and Niger last month, and it is a leading candidate for the majority stake in Ghana Telecom. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (subscription required) (12/21) From Collaboration to Innovation: Leveraging Web 2.0 to Accelerate New Service Ideas. Learn how telecoms can harness Web 2.0 technologies to help visualize, develop and roll out new services. Get IBM's point of view on how to leverage the power of collaboration in a Web 2.0 environment now!   Business & Industry Watch  Cisco overhauls top ranks in shift to team concept Charles Giancarlo, Cisco Systems' chief development officer and the heir apparent to the CEO spot, has resigned, Chairman and CEO John Chambers confirmed Thursday in announcing that a new "development council" will oversee all of the company's acquisitions and other business deals. Chambers told reporters that the company was moving away from being a "command and control" company to a network of task forces and teams. The Washington Post/Associated Press (12/21) Google scores FTC approval; EU decision pending Search giant Google successfully overcame one obstacle in its bid to acquire online ad network DoubleClick after receiving the go signal from the FTC. However, the transaction still needs the approval of the EU's antitrust commission before it can be completed. BusinessWeek (12/20) Deutsche Telekom suit set for April A German court will begin hearing a lawsuit in April against telecom operator Deutsche Telekom brought by a group of 10,000 shareholders seeking about $140 million in compensation. The suit alleges that the company had overvalued several pieces of property during its 1999 and 2000 stock market listings, which caused stock prices to plunge. Yahoo!/Agence France-Presse (12/21) Forget triple play: Euros set for "quadruple play" Because of a competitive broadband market and increasing demand, European service providers are refocusing their strategies from plain broadband access to value-added and bundled services and fixed-mobile convergence features. With bandwidth getting cheaper, telecom companies are ready to add a fourth element -- mobile wireless -- to their bundles. E-Commerce Times (12/17) Make USTelecom dailyLead part of your 2008 marketing plan! USTelecom dailyLead is a cost-effective way to reach over 45,000 telecommunications industry executives. To learn more, click here or contact Eric Hoffman at ehoffman@smartbrief.com or (773) 549-3868.   Technology Trends  DSL Forum OKs specs to expedite IPTV launches The DSL Forum has approved a report aimed at paving the way for a new set of standards, its pending BroadbandSuite Release 3.0, which is meant to quicken the pace of IPTV rollouts and change how operators manage IPTV services. Converge! Network Digest (12/20) Companies willing to pay for access to universities Years after eliminating innovative corporate-funded centers such as Bell Labs, companies are reaching out increasingly to universities to help meet their need of marrying research and markets. And the institutions, seeking new revenue sources, are ever-eager to accommodate the corporations. CNET/The New York Times News Service (12/21) In the mobile world, it's touch and go Shoppers are looking to upgrade how they interact with their cell phones with touch-sensitive screens, full keyboards and sliders among the most popular items on their lists. Consumers are acting in response to a wave of new models being introduced by the large carriers, mostly in the high-end range. The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.)/MarketWatch (12/21)   IP Download  Ericsson buys Spanish firm for IPTV boost Ericsson continued its move into the IPTV market with the purchase of the Spanish consultancy HyC Group for an undisclosed sum. Reuters (12/20) National Geographic HD makes historic Hong Kong debut The high-definition version of the National Geographic Channel has become the first 24-hour documentary channel to go HD in Hong Kong. The channel, offered in Hong Kong by National Geographic Channels Intl. and PCCW's Now TV, is already being offered in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Italy, Canada, France, Netherlands and Singapore. Variety (12/20) Warner Bros. to expand VOD services abroad Jeffrey Schlesinger, president of Warner Bros. International Television, said in an interview that the company planned to roll out more branded on-demand services worldwide in 2008. The Time Warner subsidiary set up five international Warner TV services in the latter months of 2007. "We think this is the channel play of the future," Schlesinger said. Multichannel News (12/20)   Regulatory & Legislative  KDDI, rival win Japanese wireless licenses Japan has awarded WiMAX licenses to a KDDI-led group and its smaller rival Willcom, giving them the right to offer next-generation wireless Web access. Japan's communications ministry officially handed over the licenses today after an advisory panel determined that the winners had faster and broader plans than competing firms did to roll out the technology. Bloomberg (12/21)   LeadQuote  Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation." --Elizabeth Drew, journalist and author       This dailyLead was created for webmaster@freeraovat.com Subscriber Tools       Update account information |  Change e-mail address |  Unsubscribe |  Print friendly format |  Web version |  Search past news |  Privacy policy Advertise Sales Account Director:  Eric Hoffman 773-549-3868 Download Media Kit   Read more at dailyLead.com A powerful Web site for dailyLead readers including: Breaking News Industry Home Competitor News Readers' Choice Press Releases Search Archive       Recent USTelecom dailyLead Issues: Thursday, December 20, 2007 Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Tuesday, December 18, 2007 Monday, December 17, 2007 Friday, December 14, 2007     Lead Editor:  Susan Rush       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2007 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information