China to Allow Fixed-Line Operators to Enter Mobile Market

China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII) will grant fixed-line operators licenses for mobile telecom services "at an early date", according to a report from Xinhua news service. Mobile services are growing rapidly in China, while the number of fixed line additions (excluding broadband) has been stagnant in recent months.

http://news.xinhuanet.com

Read More

Spreadtrum Acquires Quorum Systems for CMOS RF

Spreadtrum Communications agreed to acquire Quorum Systems, a San Diego-based fabless semiconductor company that specializes in CMOS radio frequency (RF) transceivers, for $55 million in cash and $15 million in stock, with up to an additional $6 million in cash for performance based earn-outs expected to be achieved over the next two years.
Spreadtrum offers baseband processors for the mobile wireless communications market.



Quorum, which was founded in 2003, has developed CMOS multi-band multi-mode RF transceivers, including its QS1000 transceiver for multi-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE applications and its QS3000 transceiver for combined GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 3G HSDPA applications.
http://www.spreadtrum.com/http://www.quorumsystems.com

Read More

SES SIRIUS 4 Satellite Successfully Launched

The SES SIRIUS 4 communications satellite was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Proton/Breeze M launch vehicle by International Launch Services (ILS).



SIRIUS 4, which was designed and built by Lockheed Martin, will provide direct-to-home broadcast and interactive services across Scandinavia, Europe and Africa. It features 46 active Ku-band high-power transponders in the BSS and FSS frequency band. In addition, it is equipped with an active Ka-band transponder for interactive applications in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The spacecraft is equipped with a sub-Sahara African beam to complement existing coverage of Africa, which is accomplished using six additional active Ku-band FSS transponders. Additionally, there is an interconnect payload that connects Africa and Europe with a second Ka-band transponder.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com

http://www.astra.lu

Read More