Operator News in Brief - 2nd Nov 2009

­Armenia's VivaCell-MTS says that it has completed the second stage of its 3G network deployment. The 3G network is now available in all the regions (marzes) as well as in the Yerevan subway stations and tunnels.

USA based Leap Wireless says that its Cricket Communications subsidiary has signed a deal to resell its prepay phones in nearly 650 branches of Target, the second largest discount retailer in the United States.

Bell Canada says that it will be the exclusive carrier for the Samsung OMNIA II touchscreen smartphone, which happens to be the Official Mobile Device of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. OMNIA II buyers will also be able to download a free application designed to provide real-time information to users' phones and to keep fans connected during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Hutchison 3G UK has lowered the retail price of its MiFi device (£70 down to £50) and INQ Mini 3G mobile phone (£60 to £50) for the run up to Christmas.

France's Bouygues Telecom has ordered a traffic management platform from Openwave Systems to manage and optimize its network traffic. The platform will also allow information to be logged on each IP session to enable "hot-billing" based on duration and volume consumed.

T-Mobile UK has expanded its free text offer for PrePay subscribers to include free mobile internet access. The offer will be available to customers to top up their account with at least £10 per month.

Gurnsey based Wave Telecom has upgraded its 3G network to support mobile data download speeds of 3.6Mbs.

Posted to the site on 2nd November 2009