Pakistan’s Zong to share PTCL’s network
Pakistan’s third largest mobile operator Zong has worked out a deal to share rival PTCL’s network to expand capacity for its growing 3G and 4G user base.

China Mobile-backed Zong launched 4G services a year ago and had about 200,000 4G connections at the end of September. While its total mobile connections have dropped about 13 per cent over the past year, its 3G user base increased from about one million to nearly 3.8 million during that time.

Number four operator PTCL has a 16 per cent market share while Zong has a 19 per cent share, behind market leader Mobilink and Telenor, according to GSMA Intelligence.

Jio Chat expands to nine countries
Indian operator Reliance Jio expanded its instant messaging app to an additional eight countries after launching in India in May.

Jio Chat can be downloaded in Australia, China, Singapore, UAE, South Africa, the UK, Canada and the US. The app offers HD video, audio conferencing, group chats as well as file sharing and photo/video sharing.

Jio announced in mid-June it had signed up one million Jio Chat users.

AlcaLu wins two core router deals in China
Alcatel-Lucent announced deals for its IP core router from China Mobile and China Unicom.

China Mobile will use the vendor’s 7950 XRS IP core router in its national IP backbone and metro networks. The contract is an expansion of Alcatel-Lucent’s deployment in the operator’s next-generation Ethernet network, which will be completed toward the end of the year.

Meanwhile, China Unicom also will deploy Alcatel’s 7950 XRS router within the 14 network nodes in nine Chinese cities in Jiangsu, Shandong, Jiangxi, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia provinces.

TSMC sees double-digit growth in 2016
Taiwan’s contract chipmaker TSMC expects double-digit growth in revenue next year, with its turnover outpacing the industry’s average growth, said president and co-CEO Mark Liu.

He said semiconductor inventories have decreased and are set to return to normal levels by the year, DigiTimes reported.

The company said last month it expects sales to rise 6 per cent to $26.56 billion this year.

Globe’s AdSpark acquires Socialytics
Globe Telecom’s mobile digital marketing subsidiary, AdSpark, acquired Socialytics, a local social marketing company.

AdSpark director Bela Gupta D’Souza said it will increase its talent pool through the acquisition, which will enable it to expand its social media marketing capabilities.

Socialytics provides community management, creative development, social listening and social media customer care services to more than 27 brands.