Taking photos and videos more fun with LINE camera and LINE SnapMovie

NEW DELHI, INDIA: LINE, the world’s leading mobile platform with 490 million users, announced that its official camera app, LINE camera, has surpassed the 100 million global download mark as of September 22.

LINE camera is LINE’s official camera app, and provides users with the functionality to easily edit and decorate photos saved on their smartphone or taken with the app and share them with their friends and groups on LINE or other social networking services, including Facebook and Twitter.

“LINE camera has proven to be a very successful application as we have crossed the 100 million mark worldwide and users have downloaded and experienced the camera app. At LINE we have received an overwhelming response from our users and we are focused on keeping the needs of consumers at the core.” – Damandeep Singh Soni, Spokesperson from LINE India.

After the launch of the LINE camera service in April 2012, it received high acclaim by offering more decorative items than any other camera app, with over 17,000 stamps that include the popular LINE characters, over 100 frames and fonts, and more, in addition to its comprehensive photography toolkit with features such as Timer Shot, Touch Shot, and Grid View. Just 17 months after the release of the app, the global number of downloads surpassed 50 million in September 2013.

Since reaching that milestone, the number of stamps, frames, filters, and other decorative items has continued to grow, bringing with it a steady stream of new content and features, including the Beauty feature, which provides simple-to-use touch up tools; the Collage feature, which provides an easy way to lay out multiple photos together; and the Frame Shop, which sells a wide assortment of frames featuring popular characters and artists.

The robustness of the app has resulted in user growth not only in countries with high LINE user numbers like Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia but also in other regions such as India, Indonesia, Korea, and the United States, doubling the total download number and bringing it to over 100 million on September 22, just under one year since achieving the 50 million download milestone in September 2013. The app has also reached the top popularity ranking in the photography category of both Google Play and the App Store in 61 countries and regions.

In celebration of reaching over 100 million downloads, from September 22 until December 31, users will be able to download a free set of celebratory stamps in the app.

Italtel creates new data center for Italian Army

MILAN, ITALY: Italtel, in partnership with Cisco, has been awarded a €2.5 million contract by the Telematics and Informatics Advanced Technologies Division of the Ministry of Defense to create a new data center for the Italian Army.

The main objectives of the program are to develop and modernize the Italian Army’s hardware and data network, complete the hardware and software infrastructure of the virtualization/concentration nodes and support the continued operation of such nodes.

By the end of the project, Italtel will have installed a new data center to run homogeneously to the army’s existing data centers network in terms of virtualization and concentration features, thus creating a functional and cutting edge ICT network.

The army’s data center network, which has two main centers in Rome and Padua, supplies IT services to all military bases throughout the Italian territory and has to meet very stringent security and continuity standards due to the highly strategic activity it is used for.

Innovative services and mobile apps set to be key themes for CommuniCast 2014’s Mobile Seminar Series in Myanmar

MYANMAR: The Entrepreneurship Institute of the planned Menander University Foundation, Myanmar’s first independent, non-profit, international university, has announced the details for three seminars on key topics for the awakening mobile industry in Myanmar to be held in conjunction with The CommuniCast Show 2014.

The seminars will provide the opportunity for business and technical exchange of information between Myanmar and world experts in mobile business and technology. The CommuniCast Show 2014 is set to be held from 18-20 November in Myanmar Event Park, Yangon, Myanmar.

The theme for the event is “Mobile Services as the New Engine for Economic Growth” and topics range from Translating Network Capabilities into Innovative Services to Designing Apps for Today’s Handsets.

Speakers include representatives from Myanmar’s major operators, as well as international operators including Telecom Italia. The seminars are intended for 30-50 people and include an overview presentation, Q&A sessions and breakout sessions with the speakers and other world experts.

''The Myanmar Computer Federation (MCF)is entering a very exciting phase in its history with the inauguration of an Incubation Laboratory for app developers in its new headquarters offices in the MICT Park. We look forward to assisting local developers bring their ideas to the market and help grow the potential of the Myanmar software market,” said Daw Than Than Tint, VP and chairman of the Competition Committee of the Myanmar Computer Federation.

“In supporting the Menander University Mobile Communications Programme, to be held during CommuniCast Myanmar 2014, we look forward to exploring ways of enhancing the industry's development amongst new investors and supporters.''

Telstra signs NNI agreement with Tata Communications

AUSTRALIA & INDIA: Telstra’s multinational customers will benefit from superior connectivity to and from India thanks to a new agreement with Tata Communications,

The Network-to-Network Interconnection (NNI) will utilise Tata Communications’ 116 Points of Presence (PoPs), extending Telstra’s reach to tier-2 and tier-3 Indian cities such as Jaipur, Surat and Trichy.

Bernadette Noujaim Baldwin, Telstra Global Enterprise & Services, head of Connectivity and Platforms Portfolio, said the new arrangement with Tata Communications was part of Telstra’s broader MPLS strategy, which includes NNI agreements in emerging markets that are of high value to customers and the expansion of its own on-net PoPs.

“The latest estimates from a PricewaterhouseCoopers report predict India is set to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030. When you combine this with its young and burgeoning working-age population, you’ve got a compelling consumption boom and a competitive edge that sets Asia's third-largest economy apart from many other countries.

“With these economic and social indicators in mind, we’re seeing demand for data connectivity throughout India grow as an increasing number of Asian, European and American headquartered businesses look to India for long-term growth opportunities.

“Telstra is focused on providing services to large multinational companies that are expanding across Asia and the rest of the world, which is why we are leveraging Tata Communications’ deep network footprint to extend our service coverage throughout India and provide customers the same security, redundancy and quality of service offered on the Telstra network.”

Through the partnership, Telstra and Tata Communications have defined roles and responsibilities for the management of the NNI to ensure the seamless delivery and support for services in the region.

By leveraging Tata Communications’ domestic infrastructure and global subsea fibre network, users will benefit from reduced latency and increased network availability, empowering them to rapidly access the business services they need.

Equity Bank determined to challenge M-Pesa’s monopoly

NAIROBI, KENYA: Taisys Technologies Co. Ltd announced that Kenya’s leading bank Equity Bank will be issuing a ultra-thin mobile banking smart SIM with patented technology from Taisys.

Equity Bank customers can now enjoy funds transfer, micro-payments and other mobile financial services that are agnostic across mobile devices, including traditional basic-feature phones using Taisys’s “mBanking” and “duoSIM”. The technology also allows the bank to extend to customers mobile telecommunication services approved by Communications Authority of Kenya.

Traditionally, banks providing mobile banking services rely on the telecommunications provider to issue smart SIMs. Besides substantial investments from the bank in product development, the banks do not have direct control over the platform, making day-to-day maintenance difficult and creating customer experiences that are less than ideal.

With Taisys’s patented ultra-thin smart SIM – duoSIM – can be directly attached the surface of an existing telco-issued SIM, and placed into the mobile device. Taisys’s duoSIM can then be used to execute mobile banking transactions, releasing the bank from the limitations of a telco-issued banking SIM.

Number of active mobile devices surpasses world population

STAMFORD, USA: Digital connectivity has just reached a major milestone: The number of connected mobile devices has surpassed the number of people on Earth.

Why is this mobile milestone so important? Mobile devices empower like nothing else. Just look at the high school protestors in Hong Kong right now.

But the numbers, tracked by these real-time digital tickers (World Population, Mobile Connections), don't tell the whole story. More than half the people in the world still have no cell phone, the gateway to health, political power and economic growth.

"No other technology has impacted us like the mobile phone. It's the fastest growing manmade phenomenon ever -- from zero to 7.2 billion in three decades," said Kevin Kimberlin, chairman of Spencer Trask & Co. who helped create the funding to launch cellular pioneer Millicom, Inc., the only startup selected by the FCC to demonstrate the viability of cellular.

Kimberlin is celebrating this historic moment, although he makes one point: It will take entrepreneurs like those at the start of the mobile age to finish the job.

About the mobile phone, Leonard Gubar, the attorney and Director of Millicom, said, "To me, it was miraculous. Now today, you can do everything with a mobile phone."

Enterprise RAN market spending at $5 billion by 2020 growing at 50 percent CAGR

DALLAS, USA: ReportsnReports.com adds the 2G, 3G and 4G Wireless Network Infrastructure Market: 2014 - 2020 - with an Evaluation of WiFi and WiMAX research package to its online library of industry intelligence reports.

This report indicates that spending on enterprise RAN (Radio Access Network) infrastructure is expected to reach nearly $5 billion by 2020. This estimate shows that global spending on enterprise RAN solutions will grow at a CAGR of nearly 50 percent between 2014 and 2020.

Since a majority of mobile usage among the enterprise community is indoors, the availability of indoor mobile coverage and capacity is seen as a critical business requirement. To capitalize on the opportunity, many HetNet vendors now provide scalable enterprise RAN solutions that encompass centralized coordination platforms combined with in-building small cell nodes.

The "2G, 3G and 4G Wireless Network Infrastructure Market: 2014 - 2020 - with an Evaluation of WiFi and WiMAX" report package provides an in-depth assessment of the 2G, 3G and 4G wireless network infrastructure market and also explores the HetNet, enterprise RAN and the mobile backhaul markets.

Besides analyzing the key market drivers, challenges, regional CapEx commitments and vendor strategies, the report package also presents revenue and unit shipment forecasts for the macrocell, small cell, WiFi offload, DAS, C-RAN, mobile core and the mobile backhaul markets from 2014 to 2020 at a regional as well as a global scale. Historical figures and vendor shares are also provided for 2010 till 2013.

The wireless network infrastructure market is currently in a phase of transition as mobile network operators seek to address increasing mobile traffic demands amidst global economic uncertainties. This paradigm shift is bringing new challenges and opportunities to infrastructure vendors. In 2013, global 2G, 3G and 4G wireless infrastructure revenues stood at $52 billion.

This research estimates that these revenues, from macrocell RAN (Radio Access Network) and core network investments have largely remained flat in 2014. However, the market is expected to decline at a CAGR of 2 percent over the next six years, eventually shrinking to $47 billion by the end of 2020.

Although, the new wave of 4G LTE macrocell RAN and core network investments will not be able to compensate the overall declines in 2G, 3G and WiMAX equipment sales, operators are expected to significantly increase their spending in the evolving HetNet market, which encompasses small cell, carrier WiFi, DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) and C-RAN (cloud RAN) equipment.

Small cell and carrier WiFi equipment alone will represent a market worth $4 Billion in 2015. Supplemented further by DAS and C-RAN investments, the HetNet sector is attracting considerable attention from both established vendors as well as startups which solely focus on the market.