Vodafone has coughed up EВЈ3.34bn (Eur452m) for a 3G license in Egypt, the country’s telecoms regulator said on Monday.

As part of the 15 year agreement, Vodafone will also pay 2.4 per cent of annual revenues from the provided services.

The move makes Vodafone the second Egyptian operator to secure a 3G licence. Etisalat paid EВЈ16.7bn and 6 per cent of annual revenues for the country’s first 3G licence last year. Both operators have been awarded 10MHz of spectrum in the 2GHz frequency band and have five years to provide coverage to the whole population.

However, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt said that Vodafone cannot launch 3G services until Etisalat has started operations. Etisalat is expected to launch 3G services by the end of February.

The regulator said that the deal, which was signed by Vodafone, can be also granted to rival operator Mobinil in case it wished to sign the same licence.

Tarek Kamel, the minister of Communications and Information Technology and the chairman of the NTRA, said “The agreement with Vodafone to pay this amount of money mirrors a sincere confidence in the growth of the Egyptian Market with the introduction of the third mobile operator, in the light of the fact that the mobile subscribers in Egypt have surmounted to reach 18 million subscribers with a growth percentage of 70 per cent. The number is also expected to reach 30 millions by the end of 2010″.

New Zealanders now have access to world-leading mobile broadband technology with the launch of Telecom’s Mobile Broadband CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A upgrade today, powered by Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) solutions.

“New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to have this technology, which makes possible a whole new world of real-time mobile services,” said Simon Moutter, Chief Operating Officer – Business, Telecom New Zealand. “It offers super-fast mobile data speeds for both downloading and uploading data, which means that wherever they are, customers will be able to use their notebooks, laptops and other mobile devices to enjoy services such as video conferencing, multi-player gaming, and streaming video.

“Super-fast upload speeds means that Mobile Broadband powered by Rev. A is ideal for remote workers wanting to send large files, as well as receive them. For example, photographers will be able to send large photo files directly from location shoots much more quickly and easily. Mobile Broadband Rev. A makes it feasible for many more New Zealanders to work effectively away from their office, wherever they need to be,” said Mr Moutter.

Mobile Broadband Rev. A offers average download speeds of 800Kilobits per second (Kbps) and average upload speeds of around 300Kbps. It employs CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A technology, the next step up in the development path for the CDMA 1xEV-DO network behind Telecom’s current Mobile Broadband offering. The upgrade was carried out by Alcatel-Lucent, which built and now manages Telecom’s mobile data network.

Mobile Broadband Rev. A is available initially in the Auckland CBD area. It will be available in other metropolitan areas starting from early 2007 and rolled out throughout New Zealand during the course of the next year.

Hilary Mine, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s Australasia Regional Unit, said the launch of Mobile Broadband Rev. A is another example of the strength of Telecom’s mobile technology path. “Upgrading to Rev. A will ensure that New Zealand remains at the forefront of global mobile innovation and enable Telecom to continue delivering a truly world-class mobile broadband service for customers.

“This is one of the first deployments in the world of EV-DO Revision A, and the rapid growth of EV-DO subscribers beyond New Zealand means a ready demand for new applications and services based on the technology. We can expect to see some very exciting developments and it’s fantastic that New Zealand and New Zealanders will be at the forefront of them.”

Telstra and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) have launched the “BlackBerryВ® Pearl” which will be available in stores from tomorrow.

Weighing approximately 89g and measuring just 107mm x 50mm x 14.5mm, the “BlackBerryВ® Pearl” is one of the world’s smallest and lightest smartphones. The “BlackBerryВ® Pearl” is easy-to-use and features support for phone, email, messaging, organiser, web browser and other mobile applications. It also incorporates a digital camera, media player, and expandable memory slot for the first time.

Telstra’s Enterprise and Government Group Managing Director, Mr David Thodey, said Telstra customers would benefit from the national coverage of its EDGE network that was unmatched by its competitors.

“The BlackBerryВ® Pearl” operates on Telstra’s enhanced GPRS network, known as EDGE, which is the largest network of its kind in Australia, reaching more than 96 per cent of the population,” Mr Thodey said. “Telstra’s EDGE network delivers data speeds more than twice as fast as GPRS.

“With the wide adoption and acceptance of BlackBerryВ® as a business communications tool, many of Telstra’s enterprise and government customers are already using BlackBerryВ® for solutions that extend beyond the great email capability of BlackBerryВ®. This helps Telstra’s customers drive even greater productivity and accelerates their return on investment.

“Today many Telstra customers are using BlackBerryВ® to access a variety of applications beyond email, including sales force automation, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), remote network management and dispatch. Telstra also provides fully managed mobility solutions through KAZ Group, Telstra’s ICT and IP services subsidiary.

“Telstra is about offering our customers choice, because we understand that they all have different needs.”

Since September, Telstra began switching on its EDGE network, meaning many existing Telstra customers are also experiencing faster data speeds on their EDGE capable BlackBerryВ® 8700g and BlackBerryВ® 7130g handsets.

“Despite being one of the smallest and lightest smartphones available, the “BlackBerryВ® Pearl” offers the full BlackBerryВ® experience that has become so popular around the world. We’re pleased to be working with Telstra to expand its BlackBerryВ® portfolio to include the highly-acclaimed “BlackBerryВ® Pearl”,” said Norm Lo, Vice President, Asia Pacific for Research In Motion.

Group Managing Director for Telstra Business, Ms Deena Shiff said Telstra was offering its customers access to new applications on the BlackBerryВ® Pearl”.

“Only Telstra customers can access our Business Portal which allows them to download applications on any BlackBerryВ® device, like spell checking, an email preview capability, and the ability to print emails and attachments to any fax machine in the country – all billed to your Telstra Mobile account,” Ms Shiff said.

“Telstra’s BlackBerryВ® Individual Solution customers can also access Sensis’ Whereis” location based technology via one click and unlimited internet browsing on BlackBerryВ® devices at no extra charge.”

Telstra is offering small and medium business customers a new plan to encourage the take up of wireless technology. The Small Business Edition (SBE) software has been dropped from $2,500 to $500 allowing customers to adopt up to 15 “BlackBerryВ® Pearl” smartphones at a lower upfront cost.

The “BlackBerryВ® Pearl” is available with BlackBerryВ® Individual Solution from $99.95 ($60 voice plan and $39.95 for BlackBerry data Plan) per month over 24 months for ‘all-you-can-eat’ email and internet browsing.

The “BlackBerryВ® Pearl” is available at $199 upfront for BlackBerryВ® Enterprise Solution customers taking up a 24 month contract for $89.95 per month. This gives you ‘all-you-can-eat’ wireless email, calendar, contacts and internet browsing.

Telstra customers can also purchase the phone outright for $679 in conjunction with either a BlackBerryВ® Individual Solution or BlackBerryВ® Enterprise Solution.