VNPT restructures, sets ambitious target
Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT) has restructured its operations and now combines the operations of Vinaphone, Vietnam Data Communication Company, Vietnam Telecoms National Company and VNPT International.

The new company, VNPT-Vinaphone, is aiming to almost double its mobile market share from 16 per cent to 30 per cent, but gave no timeframe on the target.

The state-owned company aims to grow at 50 per cent annually and have turnover of VND26 trillion ($1.17 billion) by 2020, Viet Nam News said.

China Telecom deploys Ericsson’s Radio Dot
China Telecom is the country’s first operator to deploy Ericsson’s LTE Radio Dot small cell system. The commercial rollout took place in two of the country’s coastal provinces, Zhejiang and Guangdong, and is designed to tackle indoor coverage challenges.

Previous operator deployments for the system include Claro, MTS, SingTel, Telefonica, Verizon and Vodafone.

Bayantel to exit rehab by October
Globe Telecom plans to complete the corporate rehabilitation of Bayan Telecommunications (Bayantel) after it has bought out a PHP1.83 billion ($40 million) minority stake owned by the Lopez group.

The purchase of 70.76 million shares boosted Globe’s control to 98.57 per cent, Business World reported.

Globe first acquired a 38 per cent interest in Bayantel in October 2013.

China Mobile taps AlcaLu platform for VoLTE
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator, will deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s Rapport communications software to consolidate its video, voice and messaging services onto a single platform.

The deployment in nine provinces will enable the operator, with a 63 per cent market share, to offer voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) services. China Mobile also will be able to use Rapport’s native APIs and WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) capabilities to create contextual applications and services, enabling subscribers to personalise how they connect with others using video, voice and messaging on any connected device.

Globe partners for discount calls from Japan
The Philippines’ Globe Telecom has expanded its partnership with Japan’s Brastel with the launch of a co-branded OTT calling service that offers discounts of up to 68 per cent.

The two companies started partnering in February to offer co-branded reloadable calling cards to Globe’s Japan-based customers to make calls to the Philippines at a preferential rate.

Starting August 1, Globe customers can make calls via Brastel’s 050 application for just JPY10 per minute ($0.08), compared to the current price of JPY 32 per minute when calling from a mobile with 0091 prefix.