Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm raised its earnings outlook for the fiscal third quarter to June, helped by strong demand for 1xEV-DO and HSPA chipsets as well as revenues from 3G network upgrades. The company expects quarterly revenues slightly above the top end of its previously announced range of USD 2.5-2.7 billion. EPS is expected to be USD 0.54-0.55, better than the previous forecast of USD 0.50-0.52. Mobile Station Modem chip shipments are put at 86 million for the quarter, versus a previous estimate of 85-88 million. Based on information from its licensees, Qualcomm estimates 107 million CDMA (CDMA2000 and WCDMA) devices were shipped in the quarter, up from 86 million a year ago, at an average selling price of USD 226.

www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=623234

IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C) announced today that Liore Alroy has been named CEO of IDT Telecom as part of broader restructuring program designed to cut costs and achieve profitability.

Prior to todays appointment, Mr. Alroy served as an Executive Vice President and as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Company. Since 2004, he has been the Chief Executive Officer of Net2Phone Inc., an affiliate of the Company that was fully acquired in 2006. Mr. Alroy joined IDT in 2001.

"I am delighted that Liore will be taking the helm of our telecom business. He has been a leader in the VOIP industry, and is ideally suited to identify and execute on opportunities created by emerging technologies," said Jim Courter, IDTs CEO.

"I look forward to taking on the new challenges at Telecom," said Mr. Alroy. "I will be working energetically to maximize shareholder value by leveraging our considerable telecommunications expertise and assets."

Mr. Alroy will replace Motti Lichtenstein, who also served as IDTs Executive Vice President for Telecom. Mr. Lichtenstein is leaving to pursue other business opportunities.

As part of its restructuring and cost reduction program, the Company also announced that Marc J. Oppenheimer will step down as Chief Operating Officer of IDT. Mr. Oppenheimer will be working with the company to ensure a smooth transition of his duties to other members of the IDT management team.

"I want to thank Motti and Marc for the important contributions they have rendered to IDT," said Jim Courter. "Motti has been with us for many years and was instrumental in building IDT Telecom, as well as making many meaningful contributions to IDT as a whole. Marc has been with IDT as a director of Net2Phone and then IDT Corporation, as our lead independent director and most recently as a member of management. He has brought important changes to IDT and helped set us back on the path to profitability. Im grateful for the valuable contributions both men have made to the company, and wish them all the best in their future endeavors."

About IDT Corporation

IDT Corporation is an innovative and opportunity seeking multinational holding company with operations that span several industries. Through its Telecom subsidiary, IDT provides telecommunications services worldwide to the retail and wholesale markets. IDT Energy operates an Energy Services Company (ESCO) in New York State. IDT subsidiary American Shale Oil Corporation (AMSO) manages IDTs oil shale ventures. IDTs Capital division incubates newer businesses, and the Companys Spectrum subsidiary holds its spectrum license assets. IDT Telecom provides retail and wholesale telecommunications services and products, including prepaid and rechargeable calling cards, consumer local, long distance, and wireless phone services, and wholesale carrier services. Under the Net2Phone brand name, the Company also provides a range of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) communications services. IDT Capitals operations include receivables portfolio management and collection, brochure distribution, Internet Mobile Group, Net2Phone Ventures and other initiatives. IDT Corporations Class B Common Stock and Common Stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IDT and IDT.C, respectively.

In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those with the words "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "target" and similar expressions, are forwardlooking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forwardlooking statements and risk factors included in this document are made as of the date hereof, based on information available to IDT as of the date thereof, and IDT assumes no obligation to update any forwardlooking statements or risk factors.

Source: www.prinside.com/idtcorporationappointsliorealroyceor515122.htm

Intersted in joining VoIP? JoiPhone VoIP has just announced some new International Unlimited Calling Plans that offer good value for people who make frequent international calls. Consumers who spend more than $50 per month on international calls should consider one of these plans. They include local phone service, unlimited calling in the USA and unlimited calling to specific international destinations for one low monthly rate. JoiPhone is currently offering 3 unlimited calling plans.

The lowest price plan is only $8.95 per month if you pay for one year. It offers unlimited calling to the USA and 9 countries. These include Argentina, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom. The plan is $17.95 per month if you pay monthly which is still a good deal.

The second plan features unlimited calling to the USA and 40 other countries for $14.95 per month on a yearly plan. This plan costs $19.95 per month and a month-to-month basis.

Their worldwide premium plan features unlimited calling to the USA and 70 other countries for $39.95 per month on the yearly plan. For month-to-month this plan costs $49.95 per month.

JoiPhone includes 40 features and Free equipment with their calling plans. There is also a 30 day money back guarantee, no cancellation fee or no contract requirements.

These plans are worth a try for callers who have high speed INTERNET and make frequent calls to one or more of the destinations included in one of these plans. Since the SunRocket VoIP experience we suggest people to pay the few extra dollars for one of the month-to-month plans rather than risk paying for one year in advance. SunRocket VoIP had a yearly plan and customers who prepaid for their services lost money when they went bankrupt and shutdown a few months ago.

Vodafone Group reported revenues for the quarter ended 31 December of GBP 9.163 billion, up 15.8 percent from the year-earlier period. Takeovers in Turkey and India and positive currency effects drove the increase, while organic growth was 4.4 percent. Proportionate for ownership, Vodafone finished the year with 252.3 million mobile customers, up by 10.8 million from September. Of the total, 24.7 million used 3G devices. Vodafone repeated its outlook for the fiscal year to March, for revenues of GBP 34.5-35.1 billion, while noting the recent strengthening in the euro could have an additional positive effect. Annual adjusted operating profit is estimated at GBP 9.5-9.9 billion, with a lower EBITDA margin year-on-year. Capital spending will reach GBP 4.7-5.0 billion for the full year, including GBP 1 billion in India.

In its core region Europe, Vodafone reported revenues up 7.3 percent to GBP 6.652 billion, with half the growth coming from exchange rate effects. Voice revenues showed an organic decline of 2.2 percent, hurt by cuts in termination and roaming rates, while messaging revenues increased 8.1 percent and data sales were up 35.5 percent on an oragnic basis. Voice usage increased 16.5 percent from a year ago, led by Germany and Italy. The region added a net 3.1 million new customers in the quarter, taking the total base to 109.1 million. The company's fixed-line business generated revenues of GBP 462 million, with the Tele2 activities in Italy and Spain finishing the quarter with respectively 0.4 and 0.2 million ADSL customers.

In the EMAPA region, revenues jumped 46.8 percent to GBP 2.496 billion thanks to the takeover in India. Organic service revenue growth was 13.7 percent, with a 9.9 percent rise in Eastern Europe, the Pacific up 7.5 percent and the Middle East, Africa and Asia up 20.9 percent. The region added a net 7.7 million new customers in the quarter, of which 4.2 million in India, for a total abse of 112.0 million.

Source: www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=201483

Rhino Equipment Corp. has unveiled its new line of Rhino plug-in PCI analog telephony cards for the open-source Asterisk IP PBX.

Each card comes with integrated network echo cancellation.

The Rhino FXO and FXS families consist of non-modular (permanently affixed FXS/FXO circuitry) and modular (user-defined FXS/FXO module circuitry) models.

Rhino technology partnered with Texas Instruments and Adaptive Digital Technologies to develop the cards.

For more information, visit Rhino Equipment Corp. website at www.rhinoequipment.com

Source: www.newtelephony.com/newsproducts/74h11144037.html

Canada's Competition Bureau is scrutinizing businesses that sell prepaid long distance phone cards, saying that it wants to ensure that customers are clearly informed what they’re getting when purchasing the popular convenience items.

The Ottawa-based competition watchdog is asking calling card providers to plainly indicate the effective rate per minute and number of minutes available on each card in all advertising campaigns. Regulators are also warning card sellers to to discontinue the use of fine print with disclaimers that contradict the primary message on the card or advertising material.

The agency claims that it gets numerous complaints every year from customers saying that their calling cards came with fewer minutes than advertised, or entailed hidden charges.

"Consumers need to be provided with accurate information so that they can make informed decisions and businesses need to be aware of the standards they need to follow in order to conform to the provisions of the Competition Act," the Competition Bureau’s acting deputy commissioner, Andrea Rosen.

The Bureau also imparted some good old fashioned buyer-beware advice for customers, however, noting that “when deciding which type of prepaid calling card to purchase, consumers should be wary of 'too good to be true' claims such as 'the lowest rates' or 'one cent per minute' as there may be hidden extra charges.”

Source:www.lockergnome.com/teleclick/2007/12/08/canadian-regulators-examine-ethics-of-long-distance-calling-cards

By: Tara Seals

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. have re-started their talks to jointly build and operate a nationwide WiMAX network.

The two had previously tried to do that before ending the agreement last November, leaving Sprint to alone shoulder the burden of meeting its goal of covering 100 million people by the end of 2008. Given Sprint’s recent financial woes and leadership change-ups, many on Wall Street have called for an end to those expensive build-out plans. As for Clearwire, its shares lost 40 percent of their value since the joint plan was dissolved; the news of new talks sent its stock price back up 23.2 percent on Tuesday.
 
The companies also have approached Google Inc. and Best Buy Inc. about financing, according to the report.

Earlier this month investment analyst firm ThinkEquity foresaw the rebuilding of the agreement to work together, given the obvious benefits to both companies.

 In the wake of Sprint’s affirmation that its Xohm WiMAX plans remain on track, it issued the following statement: “We believe Sprint's next step is to rebuild its Clearwire alliance,” it said in a brief. “Advantages to Sprint include lower capital requirements, reduced operating expenses, the ability to swap spectrum to gain needed depth in planned service areas, quicker national network coverage, the ability to leverage Clearwire's relevant 4G operational experience, and gaining another distribution channel for its 3G and backhaul services…We note that the companies continue their discussions on the subject, and see no significant obstacle to its conclusion.”

Clearwire Corp. www.clearwire.com
Sprint Nextel www.sprint.com
Source: www.phoneplusmag.com/hotnews/sprint-clearwire-renew-wimax-talks.html

The Nigerian Telecommunications Subscribers Association NATCOMS has called on the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC and all the telecomms operating companies in the country to provide free antimobile phone theft service to Nigerian subscribers.

The Chairman of NATCOMS, Chief Deola Ogunbanjo said the call was imperative in order to curtail the menace of constant phone thefts in Nigeria.

He added that the service is free everywhere in the world, and in line with International Best Practices .

Ogunbanjo who stated that NATCOMS started the antimobile phone theft initiative tagged the AntiMOPHTI Project in Nigeria during the December, 2005 edition of the NCC Telecomms Consumer Parliament, stressed that everyone present at the meeting agreed that something should be done to stop the criminal menace.

He added that as a follow up to the AntiMOPHTI project, NATCOMS wrote an AntiMOPHTI project proposal through the Presidency to NCC dated 20th March, 2006 .

Ogunbanjo who gave a breakdown of several correspondences held with various telecoms bodies on the matter disclosed that on April 19, 2006 , NCC acknowledged the AntiMOPHTI project proposal stating that The Commission wishes to state that your proposed project is a noble idea which will go along way in addressing mobile handsets theft in the country. NCC went further to invite NATCOMS to their Head Office in Abuja for a meeting on the details of AntiMOPHTI. The venue was the Commissions Boardroom, the date was Tuesday, 16th May, 2006 while the time was fixed for 10.00 a.m. NATCOMS, along with Newstream Technologies Limited attended the meeting promptly.

In July 2006, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) sent out invitation letters to NATCOMS and other stakeholders to submit Proposals on Consultation on a National Scheme to Curtail Theft of Mobile Handset.

On August 30, 2006 , the NCC organised a consultation on a national scheme to curtail theft of mobile handsets which took place at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos .

NATCOMS made a detailed presentation and submitted an updated proposal on the antimobile phone theft initiative (AntiMOPHTI) project, emphasising that antimobile phone theft service must be free as it is everywhere in the world and in line with International Best Practices (IBP).

Some other companies presented a feepaying service while the Telecomms Operating Companies were silent on the matter, during the national consultation.

The GSM Association International is in support of all GSM operating companies worldwide to render the antimobile phone theft service free of any charges whatsoever.

They expressed readiness to partner with local GSM associations (in this case, the GSM Association Nigeria) for the main purpose of providing the service FREE..

Ogunbanjo added that NCC and the telecommunications companies in Nigeria must understand that Nigeria is a leading player in the telecommunications world and the comity of nations hence, we should always do things according to and in line International Best Practices (IBP) which in this case of AntiMobile Phone Theft Service must be FREE of any charges to Nigerian Subscribers as supported by the GSM Association International

Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801240246.html

Titan Global Holdings, Inc., the parent company for Oblio Telecom Inc., announced that it was restructuring their Telecom units and getting out of the leased and owned network business and choosing instead to just focus on their core Distribution and Marketing strengths.

It has not been announced who will take over their switching operations (if anyone) or who Oblio will buy it's network services from instead, but it is certain that Oblio and Titan Wireless will now just go back to their original reseller business.

On Tuesday (Feb 5), Titan Global Holdings issued an interesting Oblio Telecom Press Release describing the problems they were having with their telecom division Oblio. They also announced that they have given up the prepaid wireless business. 

Here's a quote of the press release:

"Subsequent to the three months ended November 30, 2007, the Company's communications division experienced a significant decrease in sales and collections of outstanding accounts receivable. Many of the long-standing distributors of the Company's wholly owned subsidiary Oblio Telecom's products stopped placing orders for new product and stopped sending payments for previously placed orders. While we are vigorously pursuing legal action against many of these customers, the extended collection process has significantly disrupted the operating cash flow cycle of the prepaid international long distance portion of the Company's communication's division. These issues along with losses experienced in its network operations have resulted in the Company ceasing to do business as Oblio in the prepaid international long distance market. As such the Company evaluated the division's goodwill and other intangible assets for impairment based on changes in the business model. Based on the determination of management, the Company impaired the goodwill and certain intangible assets of Oblio."

From the press release, it seems that they're blaming on the distributors that they got together and just make a pact to not pay Oblio for their cards. Can you believe it?

For complete report on the press release, visit: http://biz.yahoo.com/e/080205/ttgle.ob8-k.html

Operation Uplink is a unique program of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The contributory program is designed to keep military personnel and hospitalized veterans in touch with their families and loved ones by providing them with free phone cards. Using contributions from supporters like Wal-Mart, the National Football League and individual donors, Operation Uplink purchases phone cards and distributes them to servicemen and women who are separated from their families.

Cards can be sent to hospitalized veterans or active duty military personnel deployed away from home. Only one card request per servicemember is honored in any 60-day time period. Phone cards will be sent only to military addresses, hospitals or nursing homes.

According to Ron Brown at the VFW's headquarters in Kansas City, MO, because of the recent threat of war with Iraq, they're receiving more than 50,000 requests a week compared to the 300 to 400 normally received. Historically, parents, spouses and other relatives and commanders have requested cards in behalf of servicemembers, he said.

Source: http://www.phonecardstop.com/free+prepaid+phone+cards+for+veterans.html