MTN Reaches 108 Million Subs

Operating in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East, MTN Group said it had 108 million subscribers on 30 September 2009, a 5% increase for the quarter and almost a 20% increase for the year to date. The biggest percentage gain was in Rwanda, where MTN's subscriber base rose 20% in the quarter to 1.66 million.

However, in South Africa, MTN's subscriber base declined from 17.2 million at the end of June 2009 to 16.4 million at 30 September 2009 following the introduction of a regulation requiring the registration of customers. But MTN still expects to achieve the total group subscriber net addition guidance for 2009 of 22.6 million. source: MTN statement

Mobile Growth For Unicom

China Unicom said that its revenue for the first nine months of 2009 was 114.93 billion Chinese yuan (16.81 billion US dollars) of which 51.79 billion came from mobile service revenues - equivalent to 80.6% of its mobile services revenues in the whole of 2008. Citing the merger with China Netcom, Unicom didn't give directly comparable figures for 2008. source: China Unicom statement

Samsung Gains More Market Share

Boosted by a 16% increase in handset shipments and rising sales of mobile WiMAX network equipment, Samsung Electronics said that revenue in its telecoms division rose 21% year-on-year to 10.71 trillion Korean won (9.03 billion US dollars) in the third quarter.

Samsung estimated its share of the combined US and EU handset markets at almost 28% in the quarter, compared with 22% for the whole of 2008, and its share of emerging markets at almost 17%, compared with 13% last year. It also forecast that 180 million smartphones will be sold worldwide this year and that smartphone penetration will rise to 16% from 12% in 2008. source: Samsung Electronics presentation

DOCOMO Lowers Forecast

Anticipating better-than-expected cellular service revenues will be offset by lower-than-expected handset sales, NTT DOCOMO lowered its revenue forecast for the 12 months to March 31, 2010 to 4.28 trillion yen (46.98 billion US dollars), compared with its initial forecast of 4.38 trillion yen. That would amount to a fall of almost 4% from the previous year.

In the third quarter of 2009, DOCOMO's operating revenues fell 3% year-on-year to 1.06 trillion yen, as its voice ARPU fell to 2,970 yen from 3,450 yen in the third quarter of 2008. However, data ARPU climbed to 2,450 yen from 2,410 yen.

By March 2015, DOCOMO said it plans to have 20,000 LTE base stations serving approximately 50% of the Japanese population thanks to a capital investment of between 300 billion and 400 billion yen. source: NTT DOCOMO presentation

Sprint Sales Slide

Still losing valuable post-paid customers, Sprint Nextel said that is revenues in the third quarter were 8.04 billion US dollars, down 9% on the same period in 2008. Still, Sprint said that the average data ARPU generated by its post-paid CDMA customers rose to 19 dollars from 16 dollars a year ago.

Capital expenditure was 431 million dollars in the quarter, compared to 485 million dollars in the third quarter of 2008. The operator said that Sprint 4G (WiMAX) is now available in 17 markets and should be available to a population of more than 30 million people by the end of 2009, and cover a population of up to 120 million people in about 80 markets by the end of 2010. source: Sprint Nextel statement

Mobile Devices Drag Down Motorola

Motorola reported a 27% year-on-year fall in sales to 5.45 billion US dollars in the third quarter as mobile device revenues plummeted 46% to just 1.69 billion dollars, making it now the smallest of the company's three divisions in terms of revenue.

Motorola, which shipped 13.6 million handsets in the quarter, estimated its global handset market share at just under 5%. Still, the U.S. company said it has launched two new smartphones in time for the peak holiday season and Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola, said: "Next year, we will continue to expand our smartphone portfolio and deliver improved financial results.” source: Motorola statement

SoftBank Ups Capex Forecast

SoftBank said that its sales were almost flat year-on-year in the quarter ending September 30 at 682.9 billion yen (7.47 billion US dollars) as a revenue decline in its fixed-line divisions canceled out a 6% rise in its mobile unit. Mobile data ARPU climbed to 1,990 yen in the quarter ending September 30, up from 1,710 yen in the same quarter of 2008.

SoftBank upped its capital spending forecast for the year ending March 31, 2010 by 40 billion yen to 260 billion yen, which would be the same as the previous year. source: SoftBank presentation

SK Lifted by Wireless Internet

Boosted by rising wireless Internet usage and new subscribers, SK Telecom said that its revenue rose 5% year-on-year to 3.06 trillion Korean won (2.58 billion US dollars) in the third quarter. Thanks to greater uptake of flat-rate data plans, SK said that its wireless Internet revenue rose 7% year-on-year to 662 billion won, accounting for 24% of cellular service revenues, as its wireless Internet ARPU expanded to 9,191 won.

"On September 25th, SK Telecom implemented various tariff cut measures including discount for long term subscribers, introduction of per-second charge system, lowering of subscription fee, lowering of prepaid tariff and introduction of heavy discount flat rate data plan," said SK Telecom's CFO Dong-Hyun Jang. "We expect to minimize the counter effects of tariff cut on revenue as such measures lead to strengthening of SK Telecom's core competitiveness through greater customer retention, increase in mobile usage and revitalization of wireless Internet services." source: SK Telecom statement

France Telecom Sees Sales Slide

Hit by regulatory price controls and the weak European economy, France Telecom said that its revenues fell almost 4% year-on-year, stripping out the impact of currency movements, to 12.69 billion euros in the third quarter of 2009. Revenues fell 10% in Poland, 7% in the U.K., 5% in Spain, but just 1% in France.

In most of the countries where France Telecom's mobile unit, Orange, operates, falls in voice revenues were partially offset by rising data revenues. As of September 30, Orange had 6.86 million 3G mobile broadband customers in France, a 64% increase year-on-year, and 4.72 million 3G mobile broadband customers in the U.K., also up 64%.

The Paris-based company cut capital spending by almost 17% year-on-year to 1.2 billion euros in the quarter. source: France Telecom statement

Baltics Leave TeliaSonera Flat

As revenue declines in Norway and the Baltics offset growth in Sweden, TeliaSonera said that its net sales, excluding the impact of currency movements and acquisitions, were flat in the third quarter at 27.07 billion Swedish krona (3.83 billion US dollars).

Maintaining its forecast that revenues will be flat or slightly down in 2009, the Stockholm-based company said its capital spending was down 9% year-on-year to 3.24 billion krona in the third quarter. Capital spending in the first nine months amounted to 11% of sales compared to 15% in 2008. source: TeliaSonera presentation

Domestic Market Pulls Down KPN

Hit by falling sales in The Netherlands and regulation, KPN said that its revenues fell 5% year-on-year, on a like-for-like basis, in the third quarter to 3.33 billion euros.

Boosting cash flow, KPN lowered it expectations for capital spending in 2009 to between 1.8 and 1.9 billion euros compared with 1.9 billion in 2008. The Dutch company also reconfirmed its revenue target of between 13.6 and 13.8 billion euros for 2009, compared with 14 billion euros in 2008. source: KPN statement

3G in China Lifts ZTE

Boosted by the roll out of 3G networks in China, ZTE said that its revenues rose 43% year-on-year to 15.14 billion Chinese yuan (2.22 billion US dollars) in the third quarter of 2009. ZTE said that network equipment sales climbed 47% year-on-year, while handset sales rose 39%. source: ZTE statement

Mobile Data Drives América Móvil

Pan-Latin America mobile operator América Móvil said its third quarter revenues were 99.8 billion Mexican pesos (7.5 billion US dollars), up 17% on the same period of 2008, boosted by currency movements and strong data-revenue growth.

América Móvil said its 3G networks, which now cover 70% of the population in its region of operations, "have proven to be fruitful, as they have allowed for a significant expansion in data revenues even in a weak economic environment."

After adding four million new subscribers in the quarter, América Móvil had 194.3 million wireless subscribers and 3.8 million fixed-lines at the end of September 2009. source: América Móvil statement

Growth Slows at Verizon

Verizon said its total operating revenues grew 0.6% year-on-year to 27.3 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2009 on a like-for-like basis. Boosted by a 29% rise in mobile data revenues to 4.1 billion dollars, Verizon Wireless' revenues rose 5% to 15.8 billion dollars.

While revenues in its fixed-line business shrank 5%, customers for Verizon's fibre-optic service climbed 49% year-on-year to 3.3 million, while customers for its fibre-optic television service soared 68% to 2.7 million.

“The Verizon network is now an engine for next-generation communications services that will create new short- and long-term opportunities for us," said Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "As the U.S. economic and employment picture improves, and as we accelerate reductions in our own cost structure, we are well-positioned to quickly and significantly improve our growth profile.” source: Verizon presentation

Russia Lifts Tele2

Driven by the addition of new mobile customers in Russia, Tele2 reported a 3% year-on-year rise in revenues in the third quarter to 9.76 billion Swedish krona (1.44 billion US dollars).

Capital spending, mainly resulting from expansion in Russia, amounted to 1.17 billion krona, an increase of 24% from the third quarter of 2008. source: Tele2 statement

KDDI Slips Slightly

Blaming rising competition in the Japanese market, KDDI reported a year-on-year fall of almost 1% in operating revenues to 869.36 billion yen (9.44 billion US dollars) in the quarter ending September 30.

However, KDDI's mobile data ARPU climbed to 2270 yen (25 US dollars) in the quarter from 2210 in the same quarter of 2008. The operator plans to introduce WiMAX-mobile hybrid devices in the next six months to improve its competitiveness in the mobile data market.

KDDI's capital expenditure in the quarter ending September 30 was 117.35 billion yen, down 14% from the same period in 2008. source: KDDI presentation

Telmex Down 5%

Telmex, Mexico's largest fixed-line telephone company, its sales fell 5% year-on-year in the third quarter to 29.5 billion Mexican pesos (2.28 billion US dollars) as a drop in local, long distance and interconnection revenues offset strong growth in the company's Internet access and corporate data businesses, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The newswire also reported that Telmex maintained its capital expenditure target of eight billion pesos for 2009, even though it has already spent 86% of that. source: Total Telecom/Dow Jones

China Telecom's Growth Accelerates

Aided by the purchase of China Unicom's CDMA operation, China Telecom reported that its operating revenues in the third quarter rose 17% year-on-year to 51.6 billion yuan (7.56 billion US dollars). Its revenues grew 15% in the first half of 2009.

In the third quarter, China Telecom added 2.4 million wireline broadband subscribers taking the total number to 51.5 million and 7.5 million mobile subscribers, taking its total mobile subs to 46.8 million. source: China Telecom statement

Wireless Shores Up AT&T

In the third quarter, AT&T's consolidated revenues fell 1% year-on-year to 30.9 billion US dollars, as growth in wireless and advanced wireline data services in large part offset declines in voice, legacy data and print advertising products.

AT&T said its wireless service revenues rose 10% to 12.4 billion dollars, as its wireless data revenues — from messaging, Internet access, access to applications and related services — rose almost 34% year-on-year to 3.6 billion dollars in the third quarter.

AT&T said that almost 42% of its 63 million postpaid subscribers at the end of the third quarter had integrated devices (smartphones), adding that the average ARPU for integrated devices continues to be 1.8 times that of the company's non integrated-device base.

In the wireline business, rising U-verse TV penetration drove 32% year-on-year growth in consumer IP revenues in the third quarter, AT&T's best growth in this category to date. AT&T also said that its capital expenditure in the first nine months of 2009 totaled 11.6 billion dollars, down 22% on the previous year. source: AT&T statement

Sales Setback for Ericsson

Blaming a tougher market environment, Ericsson said that is revenues fell 12% year-on-year, adjusted for currency movements, to 46.4 billion Swedish krona (6.72 billion US dollars) in the third quarter of 2009.

However, professional services sales increased 4% year-over-year in local currencies, while total service sales, including network rollout, now account for 40% of Ericsson's sales.

Ericsson said that global mobile subscriptions grew by 133 million in the third quarter to a total of 4.4 billion, while WCDMA subscriptions grew by 36 million to a total of 411 million. In the second quarter, fixed broadband connections grew to 422 million, adding 12 million subscribers, according to the Stockholm-based company. source: Ericsson statement

Revenues Rise Rapidly for LG

LG Electronics said that sales in its mobile communications division climbed 22% year-on-year to 4.65 trillion Korean won (4 billion US dollars) in the third quarter of 2009, powered by a 25% increase in handset revenues to 4.38 trillion won. Handset shipments climbed 37% to 31.6 million units boosted by strong sales in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

In the fourth quarter, LG plans to bolster its smartphone lineup to meet rising demand in North America, in particular. source: LG Electronics statement

Vodacom Expects 10% Revenue Rise

Despite more difficult trading conditions, particularly in its international operations, South Africa-based Vodacom Group said it expects to report group revenue growth of approximately 10% for the six months ended 30 September 2009, compared to the six months ended 30 September 2008. source: Vodacom statement

IPhone Sales Up 7%

Apple said that it sold 7.4 million iPhones in the third quarter of 2009, representing 7% growth over the same period in 2008.

China Mobile Sales Still Strong

With its customer base still growing steadily, China Mobile reported revenue of 114.06 billion Chinese yuan (16.7 billion US dollars) for the third quarter of 2009, up 9% from 104.66 billion in the same period last year.

Although usage of China Mobile's SMS and wireless music services continued to rise, the number of MMS users on its network fell to 132.68 million at the end of September compared with 134.88 million at the end of June. source: China Mobile statement

Sales Slip at Etisalat

Etisalat recorded net revenues of 7.36 billion Arab Emirate dirhams (2 billion US dollars) in the third quarter of 2009, a fall of less than 1% from the same period in 2008. The Abu Dhabi-based company, which operates in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa serving more than 74 million customers, saw revenues rise 10% in the first half of 2009. source: Etisalat statement

Google Sees Android Exploding

Proclaiming the worst of the recession is now over, Google reported a 7% year-on-year increase in revenues to 5.94 billion US dollars for the third-quarter.

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, said that adoption of its Android operating system for smartphones “is about the explode.” Google said 32 operators in 26 countries are now selling Android phones. source: ZD Net

Sales Slump at Sony Ericsson

Losing market share, Sony Ericsson said its sales fell 42% year-on-year to 1.62 billion euros in the third quarter as its handset shipments fell 45% year-on-year to 14.1 million.

Sony Ericsson forecast that the global handset market will contract 10% in 2009 from about 1.19 billion units in 2008. The company estimated that its market share in the third quarter was 5%. source: Sony Ericsson statement

Intel's Mobility Sales Down 12%

Intel said that revenues in its "Mobility Group" fell 12% year-on-year to 4.13 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2009, dragged down by lower sales of microprocessors for laptops. The company added that revenue from its new Atom micro architecture, which is targeted at netbooks, rose 15% quarter-on-quarter to 415 million dollars. source: Intel statement

Nokia's Industry Outlook Improves

Nokia said its sales in the third quarter fell 19% year-on-year at constant currencies to 9.8 billion euros following a 8% fall in device shipments to 108 million units and a 20% fall in sales at Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia's sales fell 24% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2009.

Nokia estimated its share of the converged mobile device (smartphone) market was 35% in the third quarter 2009, at the same level as in the third quarter 2008 and down from 41% in the second quarter 2009.

Nokia also said it expects industry mobile device volumes to be approximately 1.12 billion units in 2009, down 7% from 1.21 billion units in 2008 - better than the 10% fall it had predicted. It also expects the mobile infrastructure and fixed infrastructure and related services market to decline approximately 5% in euro terms in 2009, rather than the 10% decline it had expected. source: Nokia statement

Telefonica To Grow, But Slowly

Telefonica forecast that the compound annual growth rate for its revenues will be between 1% and 4% between 2008 and 2012, while its capital spending between 2009 and 2012 will be approximately 30 billion euros. In 2008, capex was 8.4 billion euros. source: Telefonica statement

HTC Revenues Tumble 10%

Smartphone maker HTC said that its revenues declined 10% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2009 to 34 billion Taiwanese dollars (1.06 billion US dollars). The Taiwanese company didn't give a reason for the decline, but analysts say average prices in the smartphone market have been falling as competition increases. source: HTC statement

Samsung Sales Up 19%

Samsung Electronics said its revenue in the third quarter of 2009 was approximately 36 trillion Korean won (30.87 billion US dollars), up almost 19% on the 30.27 trillion won it made in the same quarter of 2008. The Korean company didn't give a reason for the strong performance, but the Financial Times attributed it to recovering sales of televisions and mobile phones, together with climbing semiconductor prices. source: Samsung statement