In a regular series, Mobile World Live‘s Asia Editor Joseph Waring provides a regional roundup of news snippets:

TRAI calls for licences for MVNOs
India’s telecoms regulator has recommended that a separate licensing category be created for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to allow them to offer voice, data and video services.

The move by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is intended to attract new players and expand the services available for consumers. The suggested licensing fee for offering all services is INR750 million ($11.7 million).

MyRepublic preps for Singapore’s 4th licence
Singapore ISP MyRepublic, which plans to bid for the city-state’s fourth mobile licence next year, said it will kick off a limited test by giving away 1,000 4G SIMs with unlimited data access.

The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has given MyRepublic a temporary permit to take part in the country’s heterogeneous (hetnet) trials that start in August and run for three months in the Jurong Lake district.

The company’s “My 4th Telco” campaign is designed to give consumers the chance to test its network that uses small cells and hetnets, which IDA says has the potential to provide seamless roaming between all of Singapore’s networks.

Globe targets flat-rate data roaming in 100 countries
Globe Telecom in the Philippines has expanded its flat-rate unlimited data roaming service for prepaid subscribers to 50 countries.

Its PHP599 ($38.70) per day Roam Surf plan is offered in numerous countries across Europe, North America, South America and Africa. In Asia it is available in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

The company said its priority is to work out partnerships in a total of 100 countries with roughly 190 roaming partners by the end of the year.

MediaTek gains on Qualcomm in LTE processors
Taiwan’s MediaTek has become the world’s second-largest maker of LTE-enabled baseband processors, with a 17 per cent market share, according to Strategy Analytics.

Qualcomm, which had a 95 per cent share in 2013, remained on top in the segment last year with a 66 per cent share. Spreadtrum was third with a 5 per cent share.