Mobile operator round-up: WiMAX, TV, data, SMS tax and government intervention

Some exciting stuff has been popping up today in the world of mobile operators. Amongst other stories, a proposed tax on texts is causing ructions in the Phillippines; and mobile operators are behaving so badly in Cambodia that a special taskforce is being created to deal with them.

Taiwanese mobile operator chooses Bridgewater to deliver WiMAX services

Taiwanese operator Global Mobile has gone with mobile services company Bridgewater to deploy WiMAX services in northern Taiwan. Bridgewater will use the Global Mobile network to provide mobile Internet, mobile TV, video and audio, interactive media and mobile advertising. The services should be up and running before the end of the year.

Rubberduck Medias mobile TV service launched for O2 Ireland

Telefonicas Irish branch, O2 Ireland, chose to go completely outsourced when it came to creating a mobile TV service. Norwegian company Rubberduck Media has created the service, which is being launched as O2 TV. Users can subscribers to one or both of two different channel packages – one with the Sky new and sports channels, and the other with more general channels like BBC, CNN, Cartoon Network and Irish national station RTE. It is available for postpay and prepay at €1 for a 24-hour pass, €6 for a 30-day pass on the Sky package or €5 for a 30-day pass on the other.

Plan to tax SMS causes uproar in Philippines

We’ve reported on SMS in the Philippines several times before, but usually because of spam or security issues. This new story is interesting – there is a lot of anger in the country over a proposed tax on sending SMS. Under the new legislation, each SMS would incur a government cut of 0.1 cent. That might not sound like much, but the average monthly wage in the Phillipines is under $200. Also, Filipino phone owners send more texts on average than any other nation in the world.

Hong Kong operator CSL selects Sybase 365 for secure mobile data

Most times Sybase has appeared on GoMo it has been for SMS deals. This one is different. Hong Kong mobile operator CSL has chosen Sybase to provide security and performance improvements for mobile data. Sybase provides a mobile data service to operators called GRX 365, which is geared towards allowing mobile data to operator while roaming. CLS is using GRX 365 to allow subscribers to use data services email, mobile browsing and MMS while abroad.

Cambodian govt creates task force to deal with operator dispute

Illegal competition between two of Cambodias operators has gotten so extreme that the Government has created a task force to intervene. Mobitel and Beeline have been accused of massive price undercutting, and of deliberately blocking calls to or from the rival network. The taskforce will be responsible for shoring up dodgy legislation that has allowed these kind of practices to go ahead.