Vodafone India looks to buy cable firm
Vodafone India reportedly will soon purchase You Broadband, a cable broadband company, for about INR4 billion ($60.8 million).

The two companies have been in talks for more than three months, Economic Times said. You Broadband, which is owned by RG Capital, has about 3,000km of optic fibre and 6,000km of last-mile cable that runs to homes in 12 cities. Mumbai is its key market.

Vodafone, the second largest operator in India with a 19 per cent market share, is looking to expand its fibre backhaul capabilities as competition in the 4G market intensifies with the entry of Reliance Jio, which is the only operator to have 4G spectrum across the entire country.

China’s Letv sets 15M smartphone target
Chinese smartphone newcomer Letv said it sold four million units in China last year and is targeting global sales of 15 million units this year.

At CES in Las Vegas Letv announced its Le Max Pro was the world’s first smartphone featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. The model is also the first device to adopt Qualcomm’s quick-charge technology for up to 75 per cent faster charging than conventional methods, as well as the chipmaker’s ultrasonic 3D fingerprint technology.

Letv, one of the largest online streaming firms in China, has introduced five models since it launched smartphones last April and said it sold more than one million smartphones in China in November alone.

Samsung Knox receives government approval in China
Samsung said its Knox mobile security platform received a security certificate from China’s Information Security Certification Centre.

The company said that by securing the certification it will be in a stronger position to win mobile device contracts from China’s regulated industries, including government authorities, ministries and finance institutions.

The devices used for testing were the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5.

The platform also received certification from France’s National Agency of Computer Security.

Huawei’s Y6 smartphone gains traction in Korea
South Korea’s third largest mobile operator LG Uplus reported sales of Huawei’s Y6 budget smartphone hit 20,000 units after less than a month on the market.

The 5” model sells for KRW154,000 ($127), runs on Android Lollipop 5.1 and comes in black and white. It has a removable battery.

An industry analyst told the Korea Times that the popularity of the Y6 suggests new market opportunities for Chinese vendors, considering that Huawei’s first smartphone launched in South Korea, the X3, failed to meet expectations.

Huawei supplies LTE network gear to the operator.

Apple plans 5 new stores in China in January
Apple continues to expand rapidly in China, its second largest market after the US, with plans to open five stores this month.

Last week it opened stores in the coastal city of Xiamen and the northeastern city of Shenyang and is scheduled to open shops in Nanjing, Guangzhou and Qingdao.

Apple’s first store in China opened in Beijing in 2008 and last year it had about 27 stores. It is targeting 40 by the end of the year.