ZTE, a global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today presented two new mobile phones sold by the operator Bouygues Télécom.

The ZTE Link is the first ZTE smartphone based on the Android platform to be sold in France. The touchscreen EDGE and 3G+ handset offers an ergonomic design and is equipped with a 3.2 million pixel camera, GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth.

The package offered by Bouygues Télécoms includes a MicroSD card that can be used to store multimedia contents (picture, music, videos) and offers up to 8GB of memory. The ZTE Link phone offers an 'intuitive' Internet experience as well as access to all Android market applications. The handset is equipped with a 2.8 inch screen allowing for 4/3 high resolution of 320×240 pixels. It weighs 120g and dimensions of 105 x 55 x 14.5 mm.

The ZTE Cute is a compact EDGE touchscreen handset with an attractive design. Numerous widgets can be displayed on its 2.8 inch, 16/9 screen. It offers a two megapixels camera, Bluetooth, and a MicroSD card slot that allows up to 8GB of extra memory in additional to an internal memory of 34 MB. It supports Java applications enabling the display of many video and audio formats, and an FM radio.

Emmanuel Rousseau, mobile handset director for ZTE France said, "Following on the ZTE-X760's success, these two new handsets combine value and high quality, and are being sold by Bouygues Télécom under the ZTE brand, representing a new major milestone for ZTE. With the ZTE Link we are democratising the smartphone in France by launching the first Android handset on a contract with a pre-agreed limit of €29. The ZTE Cute is a worthy successor to the ZTE X760, and offers an improved design with a wide screen widgets resolution and a very sleek form factor, all at an even more attractive price."

In 2010, ZTE says it will consolidate its position in the French market by accelerating the democratisation of mobiles through a wider product range, reaching more people with a superior mobile experience.

AdMob, the mobile advertising network, has today announced that it is testing its geo-targeted ad serving technology with location-aware dating site Lovestruck.com in the UK.

Focusing on iPhone and iPod Touch handsets, the campaign will allow the online dating service to target users based on their real-time location, enabling Lovestruck.com to serve a more specific and relevant advert. The ongoing campaign targets young professionals in London who are looking for love.

AdMob's geo-targeted graphic banner ad format will run across the website and applications within its network in order to drive consumers in London to the Lovestruck.com dating website.

Brett Harding, managing director at Lovestruck.com, said, "Our current strategy is to focus on expanding our London membership base with our new mobile dating apps. AdMob's latest technology means that we can be sure that only users in London are viewing our ads. This results in minimal marketing wastage, and in turn delivers a much lower cost-per-acquisition – a fundamental objective of our business."

Thomas Schulz, managing director at AdMob EMEA, said, "We are pleased to be testing geo-targeted advertising with Lovestruck.com in the UK. Our initial tests have shown that this can be a very effective way for organisations to target users and drive more relevant traffic to their websites. As mobile technology continues to evolve we are seeing a lot of new possibilities open up for the advertising industry. We're particularly excited about geo-targeting as it makes it even easier for advertisers to reach the right people. Ultimately this means that advertisers get a far greater return on their investment and users see less irrelevant advertising."

Lovestruck.com's mobile media advertising agency, Fetch Media, predicts a rapid adoption of AdMob's latest pioneering technology. James Connelly, managing director at Fetch Media adds, "The best-performing ads are obviously the most relevant ones. Geo-targeted real-time ads are a big step towards total relevancy, and we are proud to have worked with AdMob to bring it to the UK marketplace."

Tekelec, a session and mobile data management specialist, today announced agreements to acquire two companies specialising in broadband internet: policy control leader Camiant and evolved subscriber data management (SDM) company Blueslice Networks. Tekelec also announced that the Blueslice Networks acquisition was completed on May 5.

Tekelec says it will be the only player in the industry to blend and capture the synergies among session, policy, subscriber data management, network and business intelligence, and mobile messaging. With the acquisitions, Tekelec says it will help shape the definition of next-generation core networks as global service providers evolve to all-Internet protocol (IP) architectures such as long-term evolution (LTE) and IP multimedia subsystem (IMS).

Tekelec also syas it will provide a unique layer of intelligence that gives service providers new real-time abilities to manage their networks based on dynamic policy control, unified subscriber profiles, and market-leading session management, including network routing data. These capabilities will enable service providers to deliver high-quality and differentiated broadband data services.

For example, says Tekelec, service providers will be able to lower network costs and generate new revenues through personalized services, applications and bandwidth optimization. In addition, network operations, marketing and customer service teams will be able to transition subscribers to next-generation networks, identify new service needs, improve the quality of service, and reduce churn.

More on this story to follow.

Samsung has today announced it will be expanding its existing distribution strategy by appointing Micro-P to manage the delivery of its mobile phones in the UK, marking an extension to Samsung's current agreement with the distributor.

In a move to complement its distribution network, the agreement will see Micro-P handle delivery for Samsung's mobile phone range in the UK, and will include recent releases Monte, Galaxy Portal, Diva and Genio Slide, as well as other handsets, Solid Extreme, Delphi, Shark, S3550, Megacell, Omina II and Omnia Pro B7330. Micro-P will also be part of the distribution of Samsung's new smart phones, Wave and Galaxy S, which are due to launch in June.

Simon Stanford, Head of Mobile for Samsung UK and Ireland says, "We've had a very successful 2009 at Samsung and are committed to strengthening our position in the UK Mobile market by introducing products that build on the momentum of the launches of recent handsets such as Galaxy Portal, Diva and Monte. We already have an extremely successful distribution network in place, but it's important that we continue to review and expand this in order to support hero launches we have planned for later in the year, as well as continuing consumer demand for our other handsets."

Samsung has worked with Micro-P since 1993, with the distributor already managing delivery for Samsung across the rest of its UK business, including consumer electronics, PC, optical and monitors. In January this year, Micro-P began selling Samsung's PBX communication system, and has recently signed a deal to distribute its MP3 and MP4 products.

Gerry O'Keeffe, Managing Director, Micro-P, said, "Samsung is an important partner for Micro-P and we are delighted to be adding to the portfolio of products we already look after for the company across its voice, data and mobile technologies. The addition of Samsung to our Mobile proposition comes at an ideal time for Micro P, the Roadmap for 2010 shows great growth potential, especially into the Smartphone space, and this coupled with our Airtime, Accessories, and Applications, gives us even greater opportunities to deliver a total solution."

Lebara Mobile, a specialist in low-cost international mobile services, today announced the launch of Lebara Mobile France in partnership with Bouygues Telecom. French consumers can now make 'competitively-priced' national and international calls direct from a mobile phone using Lebara Mobile's  Prepaid SIM card.

France is a strong market for international calling, says Lebara, with its large population of migrants, ex-patriot workers, students and residents with international connections. Lebara Mobile's says its heritage of serving multi-cultural communities in the other seven countries in which it operates has enabled it to develop a deep understanding of the needs of these customers.

Yoganathan Ratheesan, CEO of Lebara, commented: "France represents a significant opportunity for Lebara. We feel that our target audiences continue to be underserved and we are confident that our proven success can be replicated in the French market, ultimately displacing pre-paid international calling cards."

Given the regionalised nature of the French market, Lebara says it will use a combination of well-known shops and independent retailers, telecom outlets and tobacconists to reach customers all over France, with top-ups available from e-terminals and as scratchcards. SIM cards and top-ups will also soon be available.

Uniquely, for the French market, Lebara says its Mobile airtime vouchers will not expire. This means that Lebara Mobile customers can choose to use their credit as and when they like.

Ratheesan added: "This is a particularly exciting time for Lebara, following our German market entry in January this year and the first market launch of our mobile internet and content services in the UK last month. We know that our services mean more to our customers than just making calls – they are an important bond with family and friends, and we look forward to making that bond as easy and low-cost as possible for French consumers."

Lebara provides call connections though its close relationships with over 70 global telecommunications carriers, as well as 'excellent' network coverage as a result of its partnership with Bouygues Telecom. Lebara says its customers can also expect 'transparent and honest' pricing, and access to a dedicated multi-lingual customer services team who can answer queries in up to 22 different languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Turkish.

With Lebara Mobile, international calls start from 9 cents per minute, national calls are 15 cents per minute, and national and international SMSs are 10 cents and 15 cents each respectively. A call set-up charge of 9 cents applies to all calls: national calls are billed by the second and international calls are billed per minute. To celebrate the launch, Lebara Mobile says it is offering an extra 50 percent credit free on all top-ups for a limited time and free calls to other Lebara customers in France when they top-up.

Blyk, the mobile messaging media for young people, today announce the commercial launch of its consumer and advertiser service in the Netherlands. The operator for the service is Vodafone.  

The service will bring the Blyk brand and media model to consumers and advertisers in the Netherlands and it is said to be aligned to both companies' strategies for growth in mobile advertising. 

Blyk's launch advertiser partners include local and global brands e.g. Nike, Beachmasters, Universal Pictures, McDonald's, Pearle and Electronic Arts. The consumer offer includes 1000 free SMS and 1000 free Blyk-to-Blyk minutes per month. Blyk is targeted to the young people of 16 – 29 years and subscriptions are based on a membership (opt-in, profiled). Members need to have a SIM-lock free, MMS capable mobile phone.  

"Together with Vodafone, we intend to build a game changing youth media in the Dutch market" said Eric Kip, Managing Director for Blyk Netherlands. "Our relationship will include a co-development of the consumer proposition for the Netherlands and audience management. Blyk will have responsibility for the brand, advertising sales and technology. The Netherlands has the third highest advertising spend per capita in Europe and is a hub for many global companies and ad agencies, so is an obvious territory for Blyk's expansion. The advertising market, whilst both creative and dynamic, is also cluttered so we believe youth brands will welcome a highly engaging communication channel like Blyk. We are confident that both Dutch advertisers and global advertisers will make use of Blyk's unique ability to connect them with an important consumer segment."  

Sten van der Ham, Head of Consumer Marketing Prepaid, Vodafone Netherlands added: "The Blyk brand and the whole concept behind it, is a proven success for young people in the UK. Mobile Advertising is still an infancy media, which we expect to grow significantly within the next years.  We are convinced this will be a successful partnership; where Vodafone stands for its high quality telecom services and Blyk stands for a unique mobile media experience for young people."

Microsoft and Nokia launched the first application from their alliance around mobile productivity, Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia devices. The new unified communications client connects directly with a company's communications systems to streamline mobile collaboration, and owners of a number of Symbian based Nokia Eseries smartphones can download the English version today from Nokia's Ovi Store.

"Our alliance with Nokia aims to bring the Office productivity experience to the millions of people using Nokia smartphones around the world," says Kirt Debique, General Manager at Microsoft. "With the arrival of Communicator Mobile for Nokia today, we have a great start to fulfilling our joint vision."

Communicator Mobile enables workers to see their colleagues' availability, and click to communicate with them using the best method, from IM to email, text to phone call. The names and status of colleagues are embedded directly into the devices' contacts application, enabling people to update their own presence, start and join instant messaging sessions, and begin calls directly from the contact card.

"This application really provides a much more efficient way to work with others as you can see if someone is busy or available, and the best way to start a conversation with them," says Ukko Lappalainen, Vice President at Nokia. "It also meets all of the requirements for enterprise: cost effective to implement, secure, familiar and reliable."

The launch is the first product from the alliance – announced last August – which was the first time either company had embarked on an agreement of this scope and nature. Since then, the two companies have been collaborating on the design and development of new solutions, as well as embarking on joint marketing efforts around others they already share.

"As part of our push to constantly enhance our unified communications proposition, we are keen to extend the collaborative benefits of Microsoft Communicator Mobile to Nokia devices," says Scott Petty, Director at Vodafone Group Business Services.
"Communicator Mobile offers great potential for our large corporate customer base who have already deployed Communicator for desktop and now are looking to extend that existing infrastructure to mobile."

"We trial all potential offerings ourselves and have been very happy with the internal response and productivity increase we have experienced using Microsoft Communicator Mobile," says Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler, Executive Vice President at Swisscom / Webcall. "Having these two companies work together is really helping us serve the needs of our customers."

This new application, available initially for Nokia E72 and Nokia E52, adds to the work Nokia is already doing in optimizing direct access to email and other personal information with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. The companies plan to deliver Communicator Mobile for Nokia pre-installed on select Nokia smartphones in the future and plan to support additional devices, including the recently announced Nokia E5.

Ixia, a global provider of converged IP network test solutions, today announced the introduction of a complete end-to-end testing solution for converged mobile backhaul networks – from the radio base station to the mobile packet core. Ixia now offers full testing solutions, including measurement for conformance validation, interoperability, precision and performance of devices and networks used for mobile backhaul, including IEEE 1588v2 and ITU-T Sync-E-based time synchronization standards.

The explosive growth in the number of wireless subscribers using data-intensive smart phones has resulted in unanticipated bandwidth demands on wireless service providers. Traditional time-division multiplexing (TDM) circuits connecting base stations to regional network controllers have become overloaded and are unable to keep up with the uptick in wireless traffic growth. Instead, service providers are now rolling out wireless backhaul services over Carrier Ethernet and MPLS using IP as a cost-effective solution to accommodate increased bandwidth loads.

TDM circuits provide ultra-high reliability, superior voice quality of service (QoS), and acutely accurate timing. Replacing TDM circuits with Ethernet technology requires attention to accurate timing – on the order of parts per million (ppm). The IEEE 1588v2 Precision Timing Protocol (PTP) and ITU-T Synchronous Ethernet (Sync-E) using Ethernet Synchronization Messaging Channel (ESMC) protocols address this issue.

"The hurdle facing most mobile backhaul network operators is reproducing the stability and reliability of TDM on Ethernet-based services," said Bob Mandeville, president and founder of Iometrix. "Full end-to-end compliance testing of timing protocols such as 1588v2 – demonstrating reliability on par with TDM – is key for equipment manufacturers helping carriers to make the transition."

The new IEEE 1588v2 and ITU-T Sync-E synchronization protocol support enables NEMs and service providers to ensure the functionality, scale, and performance of their timing protocol implementation, which are needed for wireless mobile backhaul. Ixia's solutions cover a full spectrum of Carrier Ethernet testing needs, including standardized Metro Ethernet Forum tests standardized such as MEF 9, 14, 21, 24, and 25.

"With the increase in data, video, and voice traffic from mobile devices and skyrocketing numbers of mobile broadband subscribers, mobile network operators are choosing IP and Ethernet to stay ahead of bandwidth demands. This effectively is unifying the wired and wireless services over a common technology infrastructure," said Joe Zeto, Ixia Senior Marketing Evangelist. "Ixia's converged IP platform and test solution allows our customers to completely validate their deployments and upgrades before going live, guaranteeing that their networks are properly provisioned and ready for prime-time."

Intec, a provider of Business Support System (BSS) solutions, has announced the general availability of version 7 of Singl.eView, its real-time, convergent customer care, charging and billing solution.

With th release, says Intec, the Singl.eView product is now available on low-cost commodity hardware. Communications Service Providers (CSP's) installing Intec's upgraded product will immediately benefit from lower cost of ownership, improved price performance and, by taking advantage of Singl.eView's inherent flexibility and rules-based approach, will be able to launch even more new services, at a more rapid pace, claims Intec.

Existing Singl.eView customers will also benefit from its architectural separation of core and configuration layer.   While most billing system upgrades require changes to be retrofitted, often resulting in lengthy upgrade timeframes, Singl.eView requires only a straightforward upgrade of the core software leaving the business rule configuration untouched. A number of major customers, across the Americas and Europe, are already said to be underway with programmes to move to the new release of Singl.eView v7.

"Our customers demand demonstrable ROI and operational excellence for mission-critical billing applications" commented Andrew Taylor, CEO of Intec.  "We have built on outstanding foundations to ensure that Singl.eView 7 delivers cost advantage and operational superiority, unrivalled by competitive billing systems."