DoCoMo buys into Tata

DoCoMo is paying $2.7 billion for a 26% stake in Indian telecom Tata Teleservices, giving Japan's top cellular operator a foothold in the world's fastest growing mobile market, reports Canada Online.

DoCoMo's deal with Tata follows a $350 million investment in Bangladesh's third cellphone carrier, TM International. The deal also signifies a speedy expansion beyond a mature home market and adds to the record $63 billion of overseas acquisitions by Japanese firms this year.

But as DoCoMo expands, Tata Group, the parent of unlisted Tata Teleservices and the flag-bearer for corporate India's recent overseas expansion, has put its plans for acquisitions on hold due to the global credit crisis.

US chipmaker Qualcomm is releasing a new technology that enables people to access the Internet without a personal computer, says Telecom Tiger.

The Kayak PC alternative is devised especially for emerging markets, and enables people to access the Internet through devices like televisions or monitors using 3G high-speed broadband wireless networks that are becoming increasingly available in developing countries.

The new technology combines Qualcomm modems and mobile telephone computer chips into a portable gadget, ending a need for telephone or cable wire connections to the Internet.

Motorola has released Total Enterprise Access and Mobility VoWLAN products that enable enterprises to transmit voice over wireless LAN, states Telecom Tiger.

The product suite, which is empowered to scale up to 4 500 users, comprises Windows Mobile smartphones and multiple servers incorporated with the company's existing infrastructure.

The product is available in North America and is anticipated to have a global reach in the first quarter of next year.