Spanish Telecom giant Telefonica (TEF) and the second-largest Chinese carrier China Unicom (CHU) have reportedly concluded their cross investment as the companies have finished the $1 billion stake purchase in each other’s stock. As per the agreement terms, Telefonica has bought 693.91 million shares in China Unicom at HK$11.17 (US$1.44) each while China Unicom purchased 40.73 million Telefonica shares at €17.24 (US$25.8) each.   With the completion of this share swap transaction, Telefonica’s stake in China Unicom increased to 8.06% from 5.38%, further strengthening its foothold in the Chinese telecom market. On the other hand, China Unicom purchased 0.87% of Telefonica, making it the first Chinese carrier to invest in a leading European telecom company. Telefonica plans to further expand its stakeholding in China Unicom to 10%.   Additional stake purchase in China Unicom has further consolidated Telefonica’s position as the largest overseas investor in the Chinese ...

Mobile TeleSystems (MBT), Russia and Eastern Europe’s largest cellular operator, has reportedly acquired a 50.91% stake in Comstar-United TeleSystems (Comstar-UTS), a leading integrated telecommunication solution provider in Russia and the CIS.   The incumbent Russian telecom carrier has acquired the stake from AFK Sistema, a Russia-based financial and industrial holding company, for RUR39.15 billion (US$1.32 billion) having received all the necessary regulatory approvals for the transaction.   Comstar-UTS comprises fixed-line operator Moscow City Telephone Network (“MGTS") and STREAM-TV, a leading Russian cable TV and Internet service provider. The company holds a major share in the broadband and IPTV markets in Moscow. Comstar-UTS also offers value-added “Triple-Play" bundled (voice, Internet and pat-TV) services to its customers.    Comstar-UTS currently operates in 70 Russian cities, covering a total population of over 48 million people. At the end of first-half 2009, the company served 4.4 million fixed telephony subscribers, nearly ...

China Telecom (CHA), the largest Chinese fixed-line operator, has successfully tested Alcatel-Lucent’s (ALU) multi-carrier EV-DO (a 3G technology) wireless network based on the Revision B (Rev B) standard. The Chinese operator’s subsidiary Shanghai Telecom has reportedly installed the multi-carrier EV-DO solution, which significantly enhances network throughput and reduces data latency (using multiple carriers) to meet increasing customer demand for high-bandwidth applications.   The multi-carrier EV-DO Rev B network, which represents an upgrade from EV-DO Rev A, has demonstrated highly encouraging throughput levels in the lab test with peak download speeds reaching up to 9.3 megabits per second (Mbps). This will effectively enhance customer experience who subscribe to high-bandwidth wireless services including Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), high definition video streaming and other multimedia applications.    Leveraging Alcatel-Lucent’s network infrastructure support, Shanghai Telecom became the first Chinese carrier to commercially launch a CDMA EV-DO network in China in March ...

China Telecom (CHA) announced interim 2009 results today with net income of RMB8.4 billion ($1.2 billion), or RMB0.10 per share, down 27.5% compared to RMB11.6 billion ($1.7 billion), or RMB0.14 per share, reported in the corresponding period a year ago.

This annualized drop in profit is primarily attributable to higher marketing expenses associated with the deployment of the company’s 3G wireless services and persistent decline in legacy landline business. China Telecom reported a 24% year-over-year rise in operating expenses for the period, largely due to an annualized increase of 60% in SG&A costs (including mobile handset subsidies).

The largest Chinese fixed-line operator reported revenue of RMB102.6 billion ($15 billion) for the period, up 14.8% year over year, driven by healthy contribution from its wireless segment which offset the fall in fixed-line business. EBITDA shrank 2.1% year over year to RMB43.3 billion ($6.3 billion) with EBITDA margin equating to

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China, the world's biggest nation by population, also harbors the largest number of wireless users in the world. China Mobile (CHL) remains the incumbent Chinese wireless carrier with a 70% market share, well ahead of the second-place China Unicom (CHU). However, the recently concluded restructuring of the Chinese telecom industry has intensified domestic competition by allowing an additional market entrant.As per the restructuring mandate, China Unicom merged with China Netcom (a leading fixed-line service provider) and sold its CDMA wireless business to the largest fixed-line operator, China Telecom (CHA), for RMB 110 billion (US$16 billion), creating two entities offering wireless and fixed-line services in China.Following the overhaul of the Chinese telecom industry, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued three 3G wireless licenses in early 2009. China Mobile was awarded the license for ...