* Also: Alcatel revenue and net income rise in fourth quarter; and NTT DoCoMo develops HSDPA handsets for 2006 launch
One of Europe’s most ambitious projects to deliver high-speed Internet access to residential homes could collapse over ambiguous legal requirements. Deutsche Telekom plans to invest $3.6 billion in the construction of a network that will string fiber optic cable to the curb of homes in 50 German cities. To safeguard its planned investment, Deutsche Telekom is demanding that if the operator must share the new network with rivals, it – and not regulators – should be allowed to set the usage and pricing conditions. But Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics released the first draft of the country’s new Telecommunications Act, which DT views as ambiguous because it lacks a precise definition of the concept “new market.”
Deutsche Telekom project may flounder under regulations
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Alcatel saw increases in revenue and net income for the fourth quarter, boosted by sales of converged data, voice and video networking equipment. Revenue for the quarter totaled €4.09 billion, up 7.6% from €3.81 billion a year earlier. Net income rose to €344 million, up from €7 million a year earlier. The largest part of Alcatel’s revenue in the fourth quarter came from fixed communications networks, where revenue totaled €1.72 billion, up from €1.53 billion a year earlier. The company said it sold a record level of DSL equipment, enough for 6.7 million lines.
Alcatel revenue and net income rise in fourth quarter
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NTT DoCoMo has unveiled three prototype cell phones that are compatible with High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) that it hopes to launch later this year. The phones were developed with Fujitsu, Motorola and NEC. NTT DoCoMo plans to launch an HSDPA service sometime between July and September this year.
3GSM – NTT DoCoMo develops HSDPA handsets for 2006 launch
