Rubberduck Media Lab, a provider of mobile TV and video services, has now launched a mobile TV and video service for Telefonica O2 Ireland.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rubberduck Media Lab is providing a completely outsourced mobile TV service to Telefonica O2 Ireland including content acquisition and provision as well as technical support and management.

The service called O2 TV has now been launched in Ireland and is available for all O2 customers using a video enabled handset such as most Sony Ericson, Samsung and Nokia mobile phones.

O2 TV is available across the EDGE, 3G and HSDPA networks. Users can subscribe to two packages, one with Sky channels (sports and news) and an O2 Lifestyle-pack of channels such as RTE, BBC, CNN, Cartoon Network and Travel Channel.

Ericsson and Ukrainian operator Kyivstar have signed a three-year network modernisation deal under which Ericsson has been assigned the task of expanding and modernising Kyivstar’s GSM/EDGE network.

Ericsson informed that it will help boost capacity and coverage of the operator’s radio access and core network. By increasing capacity, Kyivstar hopes to manage the anticipated uptake of mobile data in the network.

The core network capacity is expanded by using the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch Solution, which also enables migration to an all-IP network. The deal also covers microwave transmission, network deployment, systems integration and support services, as well as competence development for staff, Ericsson added.

Kyivstar and Ericsson have also joined forces in the area of advanced mobile technologies.

Alcatel-Lucent has been awarded a contract by Vinaphone, a mobile operator in Vietnam, to upgrade its GSM network in 16 northern provinces with advanced EDGE broadband data functionality.

In addition, Alcatel-Lucent’s solution is expected to provide Vinaphone with the flexibility to introduce new technologies in the future, including EDGE+, W-CDMA, HSPA, HSPA+, and LTE.

The contract was signed through Alcatel-Lucent’s flagship company in China, Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell. The deployment is currently underway and the expanded network will begin providing commercial services in April 2009.

The company informed that upon commercial launch, this network upgrade and modernisation project will boost the capacity and coverage of Vinaphone’s network and enable the operator to offer its customers a range of advanced services in the future.

Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will design, deploy and maintain its GSM/EDGE radio access solution including its latest Base Station Controller platform and TWIN transceivers.

Alcatel-Lucent has signed a contract worth $52.87m with China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China obile, to expand its existing GSM/EDGE network. The expansion, which is now underway, will allow CMPak to provide improved commercial services in northern Pakistan by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

Alcatel-Lucent will have the full responsibility for building the network, providing design, deployment and integration services. The company will also provide project management and maintenance services to help CMPak lower its network operational costs.

Alcatel-Lucent, through its flagship company in China Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, will supply CMPak with its GSM/EDGE radio access solution including its latest Base Station Controller platform and TWIN transceivers, along with microwave transport solutions for improving interconnection among base stations and providing mobile traffic backhauling capabilities.

The company will also provide a comprehensive suite of network integration services such as network optimisation, system support and general project management, to enable CMPak to introduce new technologies and services in the future.

Samsung, a player in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies, has selected Spreadtrum Communications, a wireless baseband chipset provider in China, as a new chipset supplier.

Spreadtrum’s QS520 GSM/GPRS and QS1001 EDGE transceivers have been designed into Samsung’s mobile phone models that are to be shipped internationally. The company has commenced volume shipment of these two products to Samsung.

Spreadtrum claims its QS520 GSM/GPRS and QS1001 EDGE chips are advanced in terms of radio performance and power consumption. These chips feature integrated quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE radio frequency (RF) transceivers and temperature sensors, the company said.

Ericsson has signed a three-year frame agreement with Telekomunikasi Selular Indonesia (Telkomsel), a mobile operator in Indonesia, to supply, deploy and integrate GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA radio access networks (RAN) in the country.

With Ericsson’s mobile technology, Telkomsel hopes to expand existing network coverage, boost capacity and improve performance. This contract extends the existing business partnerships between the two companies and the rollout begins this month.

Ericsson has been a key supplier to Telkomsel since 1995 and was recently selected to supply Telkomsel’s combined (2G and 3G) circuit core network using mobile softswitch technology.

Research In Motion’s (RIM’s) BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone, the new full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone, is now available in Hong Kong.

Powered by a 512MHz processor, the phone packs quad-band EDGE support with built-in Wi-fi (802.11 b/g) and GPS in a design weighing 110 grams and measuring 109mm x 60mm x 13.5mm.

The phone has a multimedia feature-set, as well as advanced phone, e-mail, messaging, organiser and web browser applications. Other features include a 3.2 megapixel camera; a microSD/SDHC expandable memory card slot that supports up to 16GB per card; and a 2.4 inch HVGA+ (480×360 resolution) light-sensing display.

Enfora, a supplier of intelligent wireless networking solutions, has announced that Nitax, a Spanish manufacturer of automatic taxi dispatch systems, has selected Enfora’s Enabler III embedded wireless platform for use in Nitax’s fleet management system in Spain.

The Enabler III product will be supplied to Nitax through Enfora’s channel partner, Venco Electronica, based in Barcelona.

The Enabler III is a certified quad-band OEM embedded wireless platform that packs GSM/GPRS/EDGE functionality into a compact footprint. The embedded software environment uses a built-in rules engine, a network router and various control and automation functions to provide sophisticated mobile connectivity and device intelligence capabilities.

The Enabler III is compatible with Enfora’s Services Gateway, which allows the user to link the Enabler devices in the field to the user’s existing enterprise applications (such as MS SQL Server, MySQL and various Oracle applications).