CelleBrite, a provider of cell phone synchronisation and management systems, has announced that Turkcell, a communications and technology company in Turkey, has upgraded its UME-36 system with its latest feature. The UME-36's upgrade provides Turkcell the ability to better distribute applications while increasing their adoption rate by making installation immediate, simple and seamless at the point of sale. With more than 1000 exclusive sales points throughout the country, Turkcell will not only be able to offer their customers immediate cell phone content synchronisation and back up services, but also the ability to instantaneously upload their favourite applications with the UME-36.

The UME-36's upgrade identifies which apps are supported by a user's phone, eliminating the necessity for subscribers to check compatibility. Turkcell users can then choose the compatible apps they want and have them installed by CelleBrite's UME-36 with a simple press of a button. Additionally, the UME-36 upgrade provides both front end and back end components for the app uploading system, allowing Turkcell to add mobile phone apps from an easy web interface. 

CelleBrite's UME-36 is a stand-alone phone memory transfer and backup solution that transfers all forms of content, including pictures, videos, ringtones and SMS, as well as phonebook contacts data between a wide range of mobile phones, smart phones and PDAs. With the UME-36, Turkcell can ensure that their subscriber's content is protected, in addition to simplifying the process of upgrading or exchanging phones with the instantaneous transfer of content and now, mobile phone apps. Turkcell's Retail Management Division Head Mr. Sait Ayayd?n commented, "Having the ability to provide our customers with this service is a win-win. For Turkcell, this provides an excellent distribution channel for the sale and adoption of mobile phone apps, and for subscribers it enables the simplified acquisition of the apps – making them more appealing."

CelleBrite's Co-CEO, Yossi Carmil commented on the UME-36's upgrade. "CelleBrite is committed to providing tools that make it easier for retailers, carriers and subscribers to adopt and leverage the latest technology. We are pleased that Turkcell is adopting this latest upgrade as it will certainly offer them the ability to more widely distribute apps, while providing their customers with a service that differentiates them from their competition."

GfK Retail and Technology's latest Irish Handset data is said to show that the smartphone revolution is beginning to arrive in the Republic of Ireland. Since the beginning of the year, the smartphone share has doubled from 8% to 16%, driven by key hero handsets.  

This trend is coupled with the more dramatic share that touchscreens now represent in the Irish Mobile Handset marketplace. In January, one in every four handsets sold was a touchscreen and this has moved up to nearly 1 in 3 handsets purchased.   The key understanding to derive from this is that the common assumption that a touchscreen phone is "smart" is not necessarily true.

Currently, 63.4% of touchscreen handsets, sold YTD April 2010, are classed as traditional mobile phones, which indicates that a large proportion of mobile users in Ireland are yet to embrace the ‘There's an App for that' culture and the ability to send emails via their phones. It is clear that consumers are embracing the more tactile way of interacting with a phone, says GfK.

GfK started tracking the Irish Mobile Phone Market in February 2010, representing a first for the country's Telecom industry. Sales information is taken directly from EPOS records provided to GfK through its retailer and operator partners to produce the definitive statistical view of the handset and mobile tariffs industry.

GfK defines smartphones as having all of the following a) Advanced Operating System b) Touch/QWERTY input c) Full Email Client

The world's first TETRA operational ISI standard-based cross-border communication between two national authority networks will be trialled during 2010. The network operators, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Federal Agency for Digital Radio of Security Authorities and Organisations (BDBOS), have signed an agreement to launch a cooperative project with EADS Defence & Security to implement and trial cross-border communications. The trial will involve frontline authorities from Sweden and Germany, and is planned to take place during November and December 2010.

The operational trial will center around an exercise in international incident management, and will use TETRA for cross-border communications. The aim is to study how TETRA functionalities can improve radio communication and cooperation between two countries' authorities. It will also demonstrate the usability of TETRA communications in managing an international incident.

"This trial goes to show that authorities involved in a cross-border incident in another country can communicate with each other and with their international counterparts as securely and seamlessly as in their everyday operations in their home country," says Dr. Gabriele Knoll, Head of Directorate-General, BDBOS.

"The Rakel network brings significant security benefits to Sweden," says Stefan Kvarnerås, Head of the Rakel organization, MSB. "The trial expands these benefits. We have developed the trial and operational concepts to be able to meet the call for cross-border communications that the Council of the European Union have very high on their agenda."

"EADS Defence & Security was the first to prove in independent tests that its TETRA networks can be interconnected according to the ETSI TC­TETRA ISI standard, and this project is a direct continuation of our strategy to ensure interoperability between networks," says Dirk Borchardt, Head of Security and Communication Solutions at EADS Defence & Security. "This trial shows that modern technology can make a difference in real, demanding operations".

The trial between Sweden and Germany will study mobility management of radios, group calls, inter-network individual calls and inter-network short messages (SDS), as well as control room interoperability.

NEC announced today that NEC Eastern Europe, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Europe, has been selected as the sole supplier by the new Albanian operator, MOBILE 4 AL Sh.a (M4AL) to build a nationwide mobile transport network over the next four years. NEC will provide a full turn-key solution which comprises PASOLINK NEO microwave communications system, and MN5000 Series, a multi-service node, Network Management System, as well as associated professional services.

NEC says its full range of packet/hybrid transport products, which provide communication links essential for mobile voice and data communication services, will enable M4AL to quickly launch services and deliver a better user experience for Albanian mobile users.

"We are proud to select NEC as a partner to build our network in Albania. NEC is known for its reliable and high-quality equipment and has always provided us with excellent service," said Moni Buchnik, CEO of MOBILE 4 AL.

Hiroyasu Ishii, General Manager of the Global Network Division at NEC Corporation, Tokyo said, "It is an honour to be the preferred partner of MOBILE 4 AL. This project demonstrates our ability to partner and deliver high-value transport solutions. With our best-in-class technologies, integration expertise and resources we can help operators deploy complex systems that enable the five nines of reliability with the lowest total cost of ownership."

A new study from Juniper Research has found that Mobile VoIP services will develop significantly faster in developed markets due to the direct correlation between 3G roll outs and the take up of mobile VoIP. This is the case even though mVoIP traffic volumes may eventually be higher in developing markets due in part to the calling patterns of migrant workers, according to the study Mobile Voice Strategies: mVoIP Opportunities & Business Models, 2010-2015.

"By 2012 we expect significant uptake of mobile VoIP in its various different flavours", says Anthony Cox, Senior Analyst at Juniper Research. "By that date mobile VoIP will be available over both 3G and WiFi networks. We also anticipate that several more traditional operators will have joined 3UK and Verizon in the US and developed relationships with mobile VoIP players such as Skype," he says.

Further findings include:

• Alliances between mobile VoIP players and traditional operators may provide the best option for today's incumbent operators to address the advent of mobile VoIP.
• Revenues from the circuit switched voice market will continue to diminish over the next five years, although this will not accelerate.
• A high percentage of Mobile VoIP carried over applications will be via WiFi networks, bypassing operators' networks altogether. Such traffic will result in some lost revenues, amounting to around $5bn by 2015.

The mobile voice report includes an in-depth analysis of the current state of play of the mobile Voice market considering the position of both the incumbent operator and the mobile VoIP new entrant. The report contains five year forecasts for the number of Mobile VoIP Users over 3G networks, the number of mobile VoIP users via alliances, number of mobile VoIP users via applications, number of 4G mobile VoIP users. It also contains the value of traffic associated with all of these categories.

Telmap, a specialist in mobile location solutions, today announced that it has been selected by Mobile TeleSystems OJSC to enable MTS Navigator, bringing a personal search, mapping and navigation service to MTS subscribers.

Telmap's white label, hosted and managed mobile search, mapping and navigation solution will be offered to MTS customers as MTS Navigator and will be fully customized to the MTS brand, look and feel. MTS Navigator includes features such as in-car navigation with 3D moving maps and text to speech technology enabling pronunciation of street names, live traffic alerts with alternative route options and a dedicated pedestrian mode. In addition, MTS Navigator will be fully customized to the Russian local market, including local content, Russian language support and more.

MTS Navigator will be available to the Russian market on the full MTS portfolio of GPS-enabled phones during the third quarter of 2010.

"Telmap is very proud to work with MTS, the leading telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS and one of the largest operators in Europe, and is constantly working on brining innovative, new services to its subscribers", said Oren Nissim, Telmap CEO. "We are confident that our solution will provide MTS with the optimal platform to deliver Russian consumers with a unique, location-enabled experience."

"After a diligent selection process, MTS has selected Telmap to provide its advanced mobile location solution to our subscribers", said Marc Sommer, Director for Products and Innovations, MTS. "We feel that the Telmap offering is a unique one, as it has a clear value proposition that will help differentiate MTS from other service providers in Russia when it comes to location services. Also, we are very happy with Telmap's ability and willingness to customize the solution to the specific requirements of the Russian market, as we believe local content is a key success factor for the service."

txtNation and Failsafe Payments Certo Payment Gateway have announced a deal that adds additional 70 new markets for Certo Payment Gateways online mobile billing coverage through a new partnership with telco mobile billing provider txtNation's JunglePay service.

The new partnership enables customers in a total of over 70 markets to purchase the digital products they want and pay for them through their local mobile phone provider account. Over 200 individual providers can now be used to clear web payments and are now live on Failsafe Payments platform.

Both Merchants and Merchant Service Providers (MSP`s) worldwide can now enjoy a true one stop integration platform to access all integrated Certo Payment Gateway`s partners and services.

According to a 2008 study by Javelin Strategy and Research, over 75% of decisive consumers would prefer to add small online purchases to their existing telephone, broadband or mobile bills as an alternative to using credit or debit cards.

Michael Whelan, txtNation of txtNation adds, "Failsafe Payments adds a whole new dimension to txtNation's, JunglePay service.  By interfacing JunglePay to Failsafe Payments Certo Payment Gateway, we bring out a large network of mobile operators to bear across Certo Payment Gateway`s fantastic brand."

"Integrating txtNation`s JunglePay further enhances the big value of using our Certo Payment Gateway for multiple banks, alternative payment methods, fraud scrubbing 3-D Secure and much more all integrated into one single platform." says Patrick Sallnert, Chief Operating Officer for Failsafe Payments EU.

"We are continuing to integrate Mobile Billing providers to offer the Merchants and MSP`s worldwide that uses Certo Payment Gateway a simple technical solution and excellent coverage when enable Mobile Billing services for their customers." says John R. Williams, Sr., President for Failsafe Payments North America.

Huawei, together with Telfort, a subsidiary of KPN, today unveiled a preview of Telfort 2.0, said to be Europe's first Next-Generation Business Support System (NGBSS).  The system, named Telfort 2.0, is a new customer care and billing solution which began serving a selected number of new customers in a few of Telfort's shops in April 2010. In June 2010 all of Telfort's postpaid customers will be transferred to this new platform. In the years to come, it will also serve Telfort's prepaid and internet customers.

Telfort has partnered with Huawei to deliver a NGBSS that will integrate Telfort's complicated IT landscape, and increase its business efficiency. The new system is based on service oriented architecture (SOA) and combines TM Forum Frameworx (also known as Next Generation Operations Systems and Software, NGOSS) enhanced Telecom Operation Map eTOM and Shared Information/Data Model SID standards, which are the basis for future evolution and transformation.

By optimizing business processes, simplifying the creation and deployment of new products and services and enabling customers to handle a much wider range of activities through self-service, Telfort's new system will reduce the company's Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). In addition the simplified open architecture will reduce the time to market (TTM). With the reduction in TCO and TTM plus the enhanced self-service for customers, the company can offer various types of new service plans.

Telfort has adopted Huawei's convergent next generation business support system to replace its legacy systems, and has selected a managed services partner (MSP) for the long term. "The telecom market is changing significantly", Robin Clements, CEO of Telfort explains. "The cooperation with Huawei offers us an efficient and future-proof IT environment with which Telfort will continue to compete successfully under changing market conditions."