WCA January 2008

Editorial index

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Editorial index

Burster GmbH & Co KG........... 35 , 39 Cable Machinery Spares Ltd............................. 33 , 38 DSE A/S................................... 36 , 38 Expomedia Group.......................... 11 Gemlux Sdn Bhd...................... 34 , 38 I LE S Srl.................................. 37 , 39 Kemppi (UK) Ltd...................... 48 , 51 Klaus Jakob Messtechnik AG.......................... 36 L & P Wire International........... 49 , 52 M J Mallis....................................... 37 Messe Düsseldorf.............. 44 , 45 , 46 Messe Düsseldorf Asia.............. 7 , 18 Microfuze International Plc............... 8

PWM Ltd.................................. 48 , 52 Radici Partecipazioni SpA........ 13 , 20 Rigon Instruments SAS............ 37 , 39 Scapa UK Ltd................................. 17 Shaw Inspection Systems Ltd........ 15 Sikora AG....................................... 34 SMS Group.................................... 20 Sonobond Ultrasonics Inc.............. 42 Spectrum Technologies.................. 42 August Strecker GmbH & Co KG.................... 49 , 52 Tenova..................................... 15 , 39 Whitelegg Machines Ltd........... 49 , 51 WireTrex Ltd................................... 34 Zwick Roell..................................... 36

Morgan Construction Company................................. 8 , 15 Murray International Holdings........ 16 Nexans..................................... 35 , 42 Nexans Deutschland Industries GmbH & Co KG.......... 17 Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG...................... 8 , 20 Niehoff of the Middle East.......... 8 , 20 Perfect Fortune Electric Wire & Cable (Shenzhen) Co Ltd................ 33 , 39 Process Control Corporation.......... 13 Prysmian Cables and Systems Ltd................... 11 , 18 PS Costruzioni Meccaniche Srl...... 32

Front cover courtesy of Herkula. For more details please call +32 8022 8763, fax +32 8022 8765 or email info@herkula.com Website: www.herkula.com

US copies only : Wire & Cable ASIA (ISSN No. 0218-3277) is published bi-monthly by INTRAS Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. Postmaster : send address changes to Wire & Cable ASIA , PO Box 437, Emigsville PA 17318-0437.

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Contents in this issue

2 2

Editorial Index

通讯目录

6

Industry News

18 行业新闻

22 Telecom News 24 通信新闻

25 From the Americas 30 来自美国的消息

Photo credit – ‘ Düsseldorf Impressions’ Messe Düsseldorf GmbH

32 Technology News 38 技术与产品

44 wire 2008 information 46 2008 线材展信息

47 Welding – machinery & technology 50 焊接-设备和技 术

60 Advertisers Index 60 广告索引

❍ 32

When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

❍ 35

❍ 44/46

❍ 53

Technical Articles

53 Power Line Monitoring System for Force and Temperature By Reinhard Girbig and Norbert Fink, Draka Comteq Germany GmbH & Co KG, Mönchengladbach, Germany 57 监测电力线路受力和温度的监测系统 作者：德国 Mönchengladbach Draka Comteq Germany 公司 Reinhard Girbig 和 Norbert Fink

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

when and where

Editor ( 编辑 ): ................................................ David Bell Features Editor – USA ( 专栏编辑 – 美国 ): .............................. Dorothy Fabian Editorial Assistant ( 助理文字编辑 ): ................................ Christian Bradley Design/Production ( 设计/制作 ): ............ Julie Tomlin Production ( 制作 ): ................................ Lisa Benjamin Translation ( 翻译经理 ): ............................... Tony Zhou Jianye Yang Sales Manager ( 广告销售经理 ): .............. Paul Browne Advertising/Marketing : ................ Giuliana Benedetto ( 广告/营销 ): Italian speaking sales Hendrike Griffin German speaking sales Linda Li 中文区域营销 Jeroo Vandrevala Indian sales Advertisement Coordinator ( 广告联络人 ): .............................................. Liz Hughes Accounts Manager ( 财务经理 ): .... Richard Babbedge Subscriptions ( 订阅) ............................ Liz Hughes Publisher ( 发行人 ): ........................... Caroline Sullens Founder ( 创办人 ): ................................... John C Hogg

June

17-20: Wire and Cable Kiev – exhibition – Kiev, Ukraine Organisers : TDS Expo Fax : +380 445 269 374 Website : www.weldexpo.com.au

September

18-21: Cablefair – trade exhibition – Istanbul, Turkey Organisers : MediaForce Fax : +90 212 465 7417 Email : info@cablefair.com Website : www.cablefair.com 23-26: wire/Tube China – trade exhibition – Shanghai, China Organisers : Messe Düsseldorf China Fax : +86 21 5027 8138 Email : info@mdc.com.cn Website : www.messe-duesseldorf.de

Europe ( 欧洲 )

Advertising/Marketing & Editorial ( 广告, 营销及编辑部 ) 46 Holly Walk, Leamington Spa Warwickshire CV32 4HY, UK Tel ( 电话 ): .................... +44 1926 334137 Fax ( 传真 ): .................. +44 1926 314755 Email ( 电子邮址 ): ........ intras@intras.co.uk Website ( 网站 ): ........... www.read-wca.com

March/April 2008

October

31-04: wire Düsseldorf – trade exhibition – D ü sseldorf, Germany Organisers :

21-25: EuroBLECH – trade exhibition – Hanover, Germany Organisers : MackBrooks Fax : +44 1727 814 401 Email : info@euroblech.com Website : www.euroblech.com

USA ( 美国 )

Editorial ( 编辑 ) Intras Ltd – Dorothy Fabian 272 First Avenue, Apt 12G New York, NY 10009, USA

Messe D ü sseldorf GmbH Fax : +49 211 45 6087 7793 Email : info@messe-duesseldorf.de Website : www.messe-duesseldorf.de

November

Tel ( 电话 ): .................... +1 212 614 9266 Fax ( 传真 ): .................. +1 212 614 9266 Email ( 电子邮址 ): ........ dfabian@rcn.com

9-13: IWCS – conference – Rhode Island, USA Organisers : IWCS Fax : +1 732 389 0991 Email : admin@iwcs.org Website : www.iwcs.org

India ( 印度 )

Jintras Ltd – Jeroo Vandrevala Subarna (Ground Floor), P21/N, Block A New Alipore, Kolkata 700 053, India Tel ( 电话 ): .................... +91 33 2407 07 01 Fax ( 传真 ): .................. +91 33 2407 07 00 Email ( 电子邮址 ): ........ jeroov@vsnl.com Website ( 网站 ): ........... www.jintras.com

20-22: Wire and Cable India – trade exhibition – Mumbai, India Organisers : Confederation of Indian Industry Fax : +91 22 2493 9463 Email : darryl.dasilva@ciionline.org Website : www.wirecableindia.com 2-7: Interwire – trade exhibition – Cleveland, USA Organisers : Wire Association Int Fax : +1 203 453 8384 Email : info@wirenet.org Website : www.wirenet.org 12-15: wire Russia – exhibition – Moscow, Russia Organisers : Messe D ü sseldorf GmbH Fax : +49 211 45 6087 7793 Email : info@messe-duesseldorf.de Website : www.messe-duesseldorf.de May 2009

This publication and its full contents of layout, text, images, and graphics is copyright protected. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any other storage or retrieval system without the publisher’s written permission. The publisher, owners, agents, printers, editors and contributors cannot be held responsible for and hereby exclude all liability whatsoever for errors, omissions or the accuracy and claims printed or inferred in the editorial or advertisements published in this, previous or subsequent editions or for any damages, costs or losses caused thereby. Wire & Cable ASIA reserves the right to edit, reword and subedit all editorial submissions in accordance with editorial policy. Wire & Cable ASIA expressed graphically or by text is a registered name and style trademark of Intras Ltd, UK. All matters relating to this Disclaimer are governed by the laws of England. 《亚洲线缆》杂志所有图文受版权保护。未经书面授权不得全部 或部分以任何方式转载。出版商、编写者、代理商、印刷商及投 稿者对在本期、以前、以及将来刊登的稿件或广告的准确性和 提出的索赔不承担责任。英国 Intras Ltd 公司拥有《亚洲线缆》 ( Wire & Cable ASIA ) 图像和文字注册商标。 Wire & Cable ASIA is published six times a year. It is circulated throughout North and South-east Asia to registered readers in wire, cable and wire component producer and consumer industries. An annual subscription is available from Intras Ltd at Euros 140, £95, US$195 or Rupees 7,880.

June

7-11: Wire Expo 2008 – trade exhibition – Pittsburgh, USA Organisers : Wire Association Int

Fax : +1 203 453 8384 Email : info@wirenet.org Website : www.wirenet.org

《亚洲线缆》一年出版六期，面向整个北亚、东南亚地区的电 线、电缆和线材制品的生产商和用户发行。订阅一年：欧元 140 ；英镑 95 ; 美元 195 ；卢比 7,880 。

© Intras Ltd ISSN 0218-3277

Wire & Cable ASIA – Janu ary/February 2008

Industry news

wire SE Asia – THE platform!

wire and Tube Southeast ASIA certainly lived up to its reputation as THE region’s platform for the wire, cable, tube and pipe industries. The trade fairs attracted 7,038 trade visitors from more than 60 countries. 33% of the visitors came from overseas with a significant number from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea and the Middle East. 381 exhibiting companies from 30 countries, including national and group pavilions from Austria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Taiwan, United Kingdom and USA occupied a gross space of 15,000m².

and Malaysia added a further international feel to both trade fairs. The trade fairs were opened by Khun Chakramon Phasukavanich, Permanent Secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Industry on 16 th October. Khun Chakramon asserted in his opening address that the hosting of wire and Tube Southeast ASIA in Bangkok “is indeed timely with Thailand’s aspiration to be ‘The Hub of Asia’…” and that both the trade fairs “will provide avenues for the various business sectors to work closely to tap the potentials arising from the regional integration initiatives as well as Thailand’s own initiatives with existing and potential trading partners.”

Organiser Messe Düsseldorf Asia’s managing director, Mr Gernot Ringling, agreed with this statement and further mentioned that ‘Thailand’s central location within the region is opening more trade and investment opportuni- ties’ and this bodes well with the staging of both the wire and tube trade fairs in Thailand. Many exhibiting companies shared the same sentiment and expressed their satisfaction on their participation at the trade fairs. The next show will be held in the last quarter of 2009. Messe Düsseldorf Asia – Singapore Fax : +65 6332 9655 4633 Email : info@mda.com.sg Website : www.wire-southeastasia.com

Visiting delegations from India, Vietnam

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Industry news

New Dubai office for Niehoff

Maschinenfabrik officially opened its new sales and service centre in Dubai in July. The office, headed by Michael Dalal, is called Niehoff of the Middle East (NME). Niehoff has long maintained good and close relationships with wire and cable manufacturers in the countries of the Middle East. Prior to the forming of NME, customer service was provided from the headquarters in Schwabach, Germany. Hans-Joachim Melcher, who is responsible for this area, will retire next year. His successor is Michael Dalal, who will be working directly in the office as the managing director of NME. Mr Dalal worked as a manufacturing engineer for power cable manufacturer The Okonite Company between 1988 and 1996, and joined Niehoff in 1996 as a regional sales manager. Born in Lebanon, he is highly familiar with the language and customs of the Arab world. He is married with three children. Niehoff of the Middle East (NME) is responsible for the following countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. It is also planned for a service engineer to become part of NME. Niehoff Dirk Albertus Kotze has been appointed as chief financial officer and director for technology development company, MicroFuze International Plc. South African-born Mr Kotze has extensive experience in a number of industries including banking, manufacturing and the resources sector. He is a qualified chartered accountant in South Africa and holds a Masters Degree in Business Leadership. His expertise covers financial manage- ment, operational and performance management, corporate strategy and organisational restructuring. Most recently, he has concentrated on corporate restructuring projects using business intelligence models to co-ordinate planning, performance, financial and strategic goals. He is a part-time lecturer in Advanced Project Management at the University of Pretoria. Microfuze International Plc – UK Email : info@microfuze.com Website : www.microfuze.com New director for MicroFuze

NME managing director Michael Dalal in his new office (the picture in the background is Walter Niehoff, the founder of Maschinenfabrik Niehoff) m

Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax : +49 9122 977 155 Email : info@niehoff.de Website : www.niehoff.de

Niehoff of the Middle East (NME) – Dubai Fax : +971 4 2045154 Email : m.dalal@niehoff.de Website : www.niehoff.de

Zao Kyshtym Electrolytic Copper Plant of Ekaterinburg, Russia, has started up a single-strand copper rod mill supplied by Morgan Construction Company. This is the second SCR system purchased by Russian Copper Company, the parent company of Kyshtym. The first system is operated by NMZ at Velíky Novgorod, Russia. In announcing the start up, John T Buell, manager, non-ferrous sales, noted the SCR 2000 copper system is being supplied to Kyshtym by the Southwire Company of Carrollton, GA, USA. Morgan supervised the installation and start up of the mill. Under the terms of contract, Morgan supplied the mill with an entry shear, a 12-inch stand, eight 8-inch stands, a pickling line, turndown, pinch roll, coiler, and a five-station conveyor. The mill is designed to produce 8mm to 16mm copper rod at 12 metric tons per hour. Buell added that the mill shipped December 2006 and start up was achieved in August 2007. Start up for Zao Kyshtym’s l Russian copper rod mill

Morgan Construction Company – USA Fax : +1 508 755 6111 Email : sales@morganco.com

Website : www.morganco.com

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Industry news

Prysmian signs new telecom cables supply agreement with Telstra

Prysmian Cables & Systems has signed a three-year agreement to continue the supply of both fibre optic and metallic communication cables to Telstra, the largest telecommunications service provider in Australia. The contract, based on a pre-existing agreement, has been secured by Prysmian Telecom Cables and Systems Australia Pty Limited. Prysmian successfully completed a global tender process for this supply contract, the largest of its kind in Oceania, demonstrating competitive- ness in price, product innovation and supply capabilities to maintain its long term commercial partnership with Telstra. Prysmian has been the only contracted supplier of communications cable, since 1998, when the company operated as Pirelli Telecom Cables and Systems Australia Pty Limited. The investment in the increased manufacturing capacity at Dee Why, to be completed early this year, provides Prysmian with the opportunity to offer

greater flexibility of supply and to develop supply chain efficiencies for Telstra. Prysmian is the only company in Australia and New Zealand producing a full range of communication cables and associated connectivity systems including optical fibre, Sirocco Blown

Fibre systems, FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) solutions, metallic and premises/data cables. Prysmian Cables and Systems Ltd – Italy Email : info@prysmian.com Website : www.prysmian.com

India-bound in November?

For four days in November 2008, wire and cable experts and exhibitors will descend on India for the MMMM 2008 Exhibition.

The 7 th international exhibition on minerals, metals, metallurgy and materials is being staged at the India Expo Centre in New Delhi between 13 th and 16 th November.

Last held in 2006, more than 15,000 visitors attended the exhibition.

This is India’s number one metallurgy industry exhibition and conference, drawing together metallurgical, technical and engineering personnel, including the financial and investment community, general management, technical management, plant management, purchasing and procurement, quality control, engineering (metallurgy), engineering (general), maintenance, research and development, consultancy and many other industry professionals.

Expomedia Group – UK

Email : info@expomediagroup.com

Website : www.expomediagroup.com

11

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Buttwelding Machines

Welding Ranges Wire mm dia. Steel: ................. 0.10-40 Copper:.............. 0.10-30 Aluminium:......... 0.80-34 Stranded mm 2 Copper:.......... 0.08-1200 Aluminium:..... 1.50-1200

40

Visit us at wire Düsseldorf 2008 Germany

March 31 - April 04, 2008 Hall 10 • Stand 10A21

AUGUST STRECKER GmbH & Co. KG PO Box 1337, D-65533 Limburg/Lahn, Germany Tel. : +49 6431 96 10-0 • Fax : +49 6431 44221 E-mail : strecker@strecker-limburg.de Internet : www.strecker-limburg.de

Industry news

Process Control Corporation opens first Chinese facility

Based China Guangzhou Atlanta Process Control Equipment Company Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Process Control Corporation, an innovative manufacturer of auxiliary equipment and systems for the plastic processing industry. As with other Process Control Corporation facilities in the United States and Europe, the China location will offer a full complement of customer support as well as state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities. On-site sales, project engineering, customer service, and technical service staff will be available to immediately meet customer needs. QI (Allen) Liang is the general manager of the China office. “Our new Guangzhou facility is a strategic move towards globalisation necessitated by our growing customer base in Asia,” said Steve Buckley, vice president of sales and marketing. “By building an integrated operation in Guangzhou, we are well positioned to develop efficient, long-term at Guangzhou, Radici Group Plastics and Lati Industria Termoplastici SpA have signed a letter of intent to form a 50-50 joint venture to develop the Chinese engineering plastics market. The constant growth of this Asian market offers attractive opportunities for businesses with a strong international presence and a wide range of products. The booming Chinese auto industry, the huge potential arising from the modernisation of the electric power grid and electrical equipment, the growing pool of domestic appliance buyers, the large investments in infrastructure and the increasing hunger for high quality goods are the factors that will have an increasing influence on Chinese growth.

PCC has expanded into China m

relationships with our customers and offer improved supply chain manage- ment.” The China offices will occupy approximately 655m² (7050ft²). The Guangzhou facility will service the entire country, promoting the Process Control product line in the China market as well as managing and supporting Asian distributors in the local markets of South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. The address of the China office is: Process Control Corporation Asia,

Room 202, No 232 Kezhu Road, Science City, Gangzhou, China. PC: 510660 Process Control Corporation – USA Fax : +1 770 449 5445 Email : info@process-control.com Website : www.process-control.com

Joining forces in the Chinese l auto market

Lati SpA is among the world leaders in self-extinguishing compounds for the electrical and household appliance sectors. The joint venture’s headquarters and production base will be in Suzhou, 80km from Shanghai, at the Radici- Plastics Suzhou Co Ltd compounding plant. The joint venture will manufacture and sell a broad range of engineering plastics under their corresponding brand names in the Southeast Asian market — China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, in particular. Radici Partecipazioni SpA – Italy Fax : +39 035 715477 Email : info@radicigroup.com Website : www.radicigroup.com

13

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Industry news

The new line will be able to achieve a production of 400,000 tons per year of low-alloy carbon steel grades and alloyed steel grades and stainless steel. Tenova – Italy Fax : +39 02 469 3026 Email : info@techint.it Website : www.techint.it Tenova boost for Russian steel plant New mill heading for China

Tenova has been awarded an order for revamping the number 23 melt shop at the Izhstal OAO plant, in Ishvesk, Udmur Republic (Russia). The plant is owned by Mechel, one of Russia’s leading mining and metals companies, producer of coal, iron ore, nickel, steel, rolled products, and hardware. The project includes the supply of a new complete line of equipment, including electric arc furnace, ladle furnace, vacuum degassing station, fume dedusting plant, water treatment plant and material handling plant. The new electric arc furnace will combine high efficiency with low consumption and be equipped with the last generation of Tenova tech- nologies, such us electrodes digital regulation system (TDRH) and KT injection system. The nominal EAF capacity will be 40 tons with an hourly production rate of 56 tons.

In response to Chinese market demands for higher quality products, the Jiangsu Jiang Run Copper Co Ltd of Yixing, China, has ordered an SCR 7000 system from Morgan Construction Company for its copper rod mill. In announcing the contract, John T Buell, manager non-ferrous sales for Morgan Construction Company, noted the SCR 7000 system is being supplied to Jiangsu Jiang Run by the Southwire Company of Carrollton, GA, USA. Under the terms of contract, Morgan will supply the mill with an entry and intermediate shear, 13 stands – one 18-inch, four 12-inch and eight 8-inch stands, a pickling line, pinch rolls, turndown, coiler and a conveyor. The mill’s guaranteed speed will be 48 metric tons per hour. Most of the equipment will be manufactured in Morgan’s Worcester facility. Delivery is planned for January 2008.

Morgan Construction Company – USA Fax : +1 508 755 6111 Email : sales@morganco.com

Website : www.morganco.com

Shaw Inspection Systems, an established leader in the development of specialised real time, digital non- destructive testing systems, has appointed Stuart Wright to the newly created position of sales manager. Stuart brings extensive technical and commercial expertise in state-of-the-art x-ray imaging, having worked in the sector for more than 10 years. In his new role he will be responsible for extending the company’s international sales of sophisticated x-ray imaging and analysis systems for industrial NDT applications, including the FFRESHeX digital continuous x-ray weld inspection system for pipelines. He will also seek to grow sales on Shaw Inspections Systems’ cabinet and in-line x-ray inspection systems to a wide range of industries including aerospace, automotive, military, nuclear, power, security, pharmaceuticals and medical. New sales manager l for UK-based Shaw l Inspection Systems

Shaw Inspection Systems Limited – UK Fax : +44 1493 603 347 Email : sales@sis.shawcor.com Website : www.shawinspectionsystems.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Industry news

Two appointments to executive board

Murray International Holdings (MIH) has announced two senior appointments. Chief Executive of Murray Metals Group, Graeme Hill, and Head of Legal, David Horne, have both joined the executive board. Hill is the chief executive of the Murray Metals Group which he joined in 1988. Since his appointment as chief executive in 2005 he has reshaped MMG and substantially increased turnover and profit. Multi-million dollar mill for India To meet increased demand for steel in the local market, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) has awarded Morgan Construction Company a multi-million dollar contract to build a complete two-strand wire rod mill in Visakhapatnam, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The government-owned mill will produce 600,000 metric tons of special quality wire rod, ranging from 5.5mm to 20mm in diameter, for the auto-mobile, fasteners and wire drawing industries. To design and build the mill on a greenfield site, Morgan is leading a consortium of partners which include Morgan India, Stein Heurtey India, and MECON Ltd, a government of India enterprise.

Horne is the MIH Group Company Secretary and Head of Legal and joined MIH in 1993. He has successfully managed the Group’s legal function over a number of years. He was the first in-house lawyer to be named Scottish Corporate Lawyer of the Year in 2005.

Murray International Holdings – UK Fax : +44 131 317 7111 Email : info@murray-international.co.uk Website : www.murray-international.co.uk

Hot commissioning of the mill will be in 27 months. Much of the new mill’s high-speed equipment will be sourced from Morgan’s Worcester facility. “This mill will complement a four-strand Morgan rod mill built for VSP in the mid-1980s,” says Mark Shore, vice president, rolling mill sales and proposals. “It stands as a large component of VSP’s 6.3 million ton expansion project.” Growth in Indian steel production is projected to increase from nearly 50 million tons per year today to 120 million tons by 2015, with further annual estimates growing to 200 million tons by 2020.

Morgan Construction Co – USA Fax : +1 508 755 6140 Email : sales@morganco.com Website : www.morganco.com

16

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Industry news

Nexans provides subsea cables for wind farm

Nexans has recently signed a contract with DONG Energy A/S, Denmark’s largest energy supplier, to supply a total of 70km of medium-voltage (MV) subsea power cables for the Danish offshore wind farm Horns Rev 2 to be constructed over the next two years. The cables will interconnect the wind turbines with each other, as well as with the central offshore transformer station, and will be laid in water depths of between 9 and 18m. In addition to the subsea MV cables in three different diameters, Nexans will also provide power accessories and installation services. Cables and accessories will be manufactured in the Nexans plants based in Hanover (Germany) and Halden (Norway). Deliveries should start in April 2008, while the installation work should begin in June 2008. The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2009.

An artist’s impression of the Horns Rev 2 windfarm m

DONG Energy awarded this extensive project to Nexans following the positive experience with the Horns Rev 1 project, for which Nexans supplied and installed all the subsea power cables. For Horns Rev 2, as in the previous project, the Nexans Group also supply the high-voltage (HV) subsea cable to connect the wind farm with the Danish onshore power grid. Nexans Deutschland Industries GmbH & Co KG – Germany Fax : +49 511 676 3777 Email : info@nexans.com Website : www.nexans.com

New name, same excellent service

Scapa has introduced a new cable division – Scapa Cable Solutions. Under the new name, Scapa will bring together its extensive range of cable wrapping tapes and components, whilst continuing to develop and invest in new products and technologies to add to the current portfolio of cabling solutions. As part of the Scapa Group, with production sites worldwide, and approaching 90 years experience in this field, the company has a wealth of technical and manufacturing knowledge to call upon in the area of cable wrapping tapes and components. Scapa UK Limited – UK Fax : +44 161 3017 445 Email : marketing@scapa.com Website : www.scapacable.com

17

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

行业 新闻

Niehoff 在迪拜的新办事处

在中国汽车市场的 通力合作

Maschinenfabrik Niehoff 在 迪拜新设的销售和服务中 心于 7 月份正式开业。办事 处由 Michael Dalal 领导，名 称为 Niehoff of the Middle East ( NME )。 长期以来， Niehoff 一直与 中东国家的线缆制造商们维 护着密切良好的关系，在成 立 NME 之前，由位于德国 Schwabach 的总部提供客户 服务。负责该区域的 Hans- Joachim Melcher 将在明年 退休，由 Michael Dalal 继任 者，他将作为 NME 的执行 长官直接在办事处工作。 从 1988 到 1996 年， Dalal 先 生曾是电力电缆制造商 The

Radici Group Plastics 和 Lati Industria Termoplastici SpA 签署了一份建立一个 50-50 合资企业意向书，以开发中国的 工程塑料市场。亚洲市场的持续增长为 业务提供了吸引人的机会，使他们在国 际舞台上展示强劲的作用和范围宽广的 产品。 崛起的中国汽车工业、电力网和电气设 备现代化的巨大潜力、民用器具买方不 断增长的市场、基础设施的巨大投资以 及对高质量商品不断增长的渴望，都是 对中国的增长产生日益剧增的影响力的 因素。在电气和家庭用具领域的自熄式 化合物方面， Lati SpA 是世界领军企业 之一。在塑料领域， RadiciGroup 是汽 车用工程塑料的领军企业。 合资企业总部和生产基地将设在苏州的 RadiciPlastics Suzhou Co Ltd 的母料 工厂，距离上海 80 公里。合资企业将以 他们相应的品牌生产和销售范围广阔的 工程塑料，销售于东南亚市场 - 尤其 是在中国、香港、台湾和新加坡。 Radici Partecipazioni SpA – 意大利 传真 : +39 035 715477 电子邮箱 : info@radicigroup.com 网站 : www.radicigroup.com

NME 执行长官 Michael Dala 在他的新办公室(背景照 片是 Walter Niehoff , Maschinenfabrik Niehoff 的创 始人) m

Maschinenfabrik Niehoff GmbH & Co KG – 德国

Okonite Company 的一名制造工程师。 于 1996 年加入 Niehoff ，成为区域销售 经理。他出生于黎巴嫩，精通阿拉伯语 和阿拉伯世界的客户，已婚，有三个孩 子。 Niehoff of the Middle East ( NME )负 责以下国家：巴林、埃及、约旦、科威 特、黎巴嫩、利比亚、阿曼、沙特阿拉 伯、卡塔尔、阿联酋和也门。成为服务 工程师也是 NME 计划的一部分计划。

传真 +49 9122 977-155 电子邮箱 : info@niehoff.de 网站 : www.niehoff.de

Niehoff of the Middle East (NME) – 迪拜 传真 : +971 4 2045154 电子邮箱 : m.dalal@niehoff.de 网站 : www.niehoff.de

SMS 的 10 亿欧元订单

俄罗斯 Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine ( MMK )已将第二冶金设施设备供应订单授予 SMS Demag AG ，这是一套冷轧单元，配备酸洗 机组、串联冷轧机、钢带精炼装置和设备，价值约 5.3 亿欧元。 连同今年初授予 SMS Demag 的 MMK 的一个连续铸 造装置和一个重型板材的订单，订单总价值约 10 亿 欧元。 第二冶金设施这个新订单，即一套冷轧钢带单元和 钢带精炼设备，包括供应所有机械组件、整个电气 和自动化系统。

设施将于 2009 年和 2010 年投入运行。

MMK 是俄罗斯钢铁生产商领军企业之一，经过这次 投资，它将扩大其冷轧和镀锌钢带的生产，达到高 标准质量。

这种钢带旨在用于制造汽车钢板、汽车内件、民用 器具和施工行业。

由 SMS Mevac GmbH 向第二冶金设施的扩建提供供 应，这是生产高质量钢材牌号的先决条件。

SMS Group – 德国 传真 : +49 211 881 774127 电子邮箱 : info@sms-group.com 网站 : www.sms-group.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

行业 新闻

东南亚线材展 - 重要平台 ! 进一步提到“泰国处于区域的中心位 置，将开启更多的贸易和投资机遇”， 而且，线材和管件两个展览会在泰国举 行很好地说明了这种预示。 下一届会展将于 2009 年最后一季度举 行。

东南亚线材和管件展完全凭借其信誉而 成为线材、电缆、管件和管道工业的地 区重要平台。 展 览 会 吸 引 了 来 自 60 多 个 国 家 的 7,038 名贸易代表， 33% 的参访者来自 国外，许多人来自中国、印度、马来西 亚、越南、韩国和中东。 381 个参展公司来自 31 个国家，包括 来自奥地利、中国、法国、德国、意 大利、台湾、英国和美国的国家和集 团展商，占据了 15,000 平方米空间。 来自印度、越南和马来西亚的访问代 表团为两个贸易会进一步增添了国际 气氛。 贸易会于 10 月 16 日由泰国工业部常设秘 书 Khun Chakramon Phasukavanich 揭 幕。 Khun Chakramon 在其开幕词中 说，在曼谷主办东南亚线材和管件 展“正是时候，与泰国成为‘亚洲枢 纽’的渴望相吻合…”，而且，两个展 览会“将为各个业务领域的紧密合作提 供通途，释放由区域一体化动力和泰国 本身与现有和潜在的贸易伙伴合作动力 所带来的潜力。” 组织者 Messe Düsseldorf Asia 执行董 事 Gernot Ringling 先生表示赞同，并

Messe Düsseldorf Asia – 新加坡 传真 : +65 6332 9655 4633 电子邮箱 : info@mda.com.sg 网站 : www.wire-southeastasia.com

许多参展公司都表示赞同，他们对参加 该次展览会表示满意。

Prysmian 与 Telstra 签署新的通信电缆供应协议

Prysmian Cables & Systems 已签署了一个为期三年的协议,继续向澳大利亚 最大的通信服务提供商 Telstra 供应光纤和金属通信电缆。合同基于现有的协 议,得到了 Prysmian Telecom Cables and Systems Australia Pty Limited 的 担保。为此供应合同， Prysmian 成功地完成了在大洋洲同行中最大的全球招 标流程，证明了它在价格上的竞争能力、产品创新能力、供应能力，保持与 Telstra 长期的商务合作伙伴关系。 1998 年以来， Prysmian 一直只是通信电缆的 承包供应商，当时公司的名称是 Pirelli Telecom Cables and Systems Australia Pty Limited 。 对 Dee Why 制造能力扩建投资将于明年初完成，这为 Prysmian 提供了机遇，以 便提供更大的供应灵活性，发展对 Telstra 的供应链效率。 Prysmian 是澳大利亚 和新西兰唯一能生产全范围通信电缆和相关连接系统的公司，包括光纤、热风 吹制光纤系统、 FTTP (光纤到房屋)解决方案、金属和房屋/数据电缆。

Prysmian Cables and Systems Ltd – 意大利 电子邮箱 : info@prysmian.com

网站 : www.prysmian.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Telecom news

California. According to a 24 th October Associated Press report on the so- called concierge services bestowed by some 5% of US businesses, perhaps no company pampers its employees as much as Google. In addition to comfortable, free transport to and from the office, Google attaches enjoy ‘a diverse menu of perquisites that includes free car washes, oil changes, massages, haircuts, dry cleaning, child care, and on-site medical care.’

Spain in Italy: Telefónica and Italian friends purchase the Pirelli stake in Telecom Italia

On 25 th October, Italian investors and Spain’s Telefónica SA completed their acquisition of an indirect controlling stake in Telecom Italia, whereby the Spanish telecom giant secured a foothold in Italy’s dominant phone company. Telefónica; the banks Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca; insurer Generali; and the holding company Sintonia bought an 18% stake in Europe’s fifth-largest telecommunications company from Pirelli SpA for $5.95 billion. It is believed that the sale will give Pirelli’s net financial position a $4.76 billion boost. Together with other, direct, holdings in Italy’s former telecom monopoly, which has the largest user base in that country, the former Pirelli stake will go to make up the new holding company Telco, which will own 23.6% of Telecom Italia. Telefónica, one of the largest fixed-line and mobile telecommunications companies in the world, will pay $3.3 billion for 42.3% of Telco. The Spanish group will get 9.9% of the voting shares of Telecom Italia. As reported from Milan by Mathias Wildt, of Reuters, Telecom Italia has said that the purchase could lead to cooperation between itself and Telefónica on purchasing, selling new services in the countries where they both operate, and jointly expanding in new markets. Announced in May, the accord was delayed for a review by the telecom regulator of Brazil, where both Telecom Italia and Telefónica are the owners of mobile phone operators. The Brazilian regulator approved the deal announced in October but with restrictions, saying the two companies must continue to operate separately in Brazil.

Nokia sees a huge rise in profit on mobile- device margins

Nokia Corp, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, on 18 th October, posted an 85% jump in third-quarter profit as the Finnish equipment giant continued to gain market share. Reporting from London for MarketWatch, senior correspondent Aude J Lagorce noted that the operating margin at the company’s mobile-device business advanced to 22.6% from 13.1% a year earlier, evidence that Nokia ‘has found a sweet spot’ between volume growth and profitability. Nokia’s results were impressive across the board. Net income improved to $2.2 billion from $1.22 billion a year earlier, topping the averaged forecast of seven analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Sales rose 28% to $18.6 billion as Nokia shipped 111.7 million phones in the quarter, up 26% from a year earlier. Summing up the Finnish vendor’s accomplishment, Ms Lagorce observed that, over the past two quarters, Nokia has shown ‘it can sell more handsets, raise profit, and gain market share even as it continues an expansion into emerging markets, where consumers pay as little as $20 for a phone.’ The Nokia results took a number of industry observers by surprise. According to Neil Mawston, associate director in the wireless practice of Strategy Analytics, the strength of the operating margin in the mobile-devices division constituted the biggest positive surprise. Carolina Milanesi, research director in the mobile-devices practice of Gartner, told MarketWatch “[Nokia] has done quite a lot of work on reducing costs, and that’s really trickling through to the bottom line.” Nokia said its market share improved to 39% from 38% in the second quarter and 36% in third-quarter 2006. The increase was driven by North America and, to a lesser degree, the Asia Pacific region and China.

Is Google – or is Google not – incubating a ‘Gphone’? Rumours of a phone forthcoming from Google Inc have circulated since at least late 2004. Recently, the rumours have intensified. But, notes Elinor Mills of CNet, ‘searching for the Google phone is a lot like hunting for Bigfoot.’ Presuming the search giant is working on a phone, what might the instrument look like? Ms Mills suggests that, unlike Apple’s iPhone, the Gphone probably will not be an actual hardware device. The experts she has consulted say it is more likely to be a bundle of software and supporting infrastructure that allows a phone manufactured by someone else to access Google services. (‘In Search of the Google Phone,’ CNET News.com, 24 th October) Projections beyond that are largely, and necessarily, speculative. But among Ms Mills’s respondents is the author Stephen Arnold (The Google Legacy and a new book, Google Version 2.0: the Calculating Predator), a long-time close observer of the Internet search leader and its unconventional corporate culture. (The company counsels its employees, ‘Don’t be evil.’) Mr Arnold has researched Google’s patents and found more than a dozen that relate to mobile telephony. In his opinion, Google is likely to partner with France Telecom’s mobile telephony division Orange and KDDI in Japan. “There is going to be a Google phone as

a reference device, probably more than one,” Mr Arnold told CNET News.com. “They will hook into the Googleplex to deliver functionality that ranges from ‘search without search’ [information that anticipates what someone may be looking for], to mapping and calendar services. Google is positioned to move different ways in response to market behaviour.” A UBS analysis accessed by CNet projected that, by the end of 2007, Taiwanese handset maker HTC will have shipped 50,000 or so handsets to developers with the Gphone operating system. Ms Mills observed: “That’s a sliver of the nearly 1.4 million iPhones that have been sold so far, of course. But it’s a start.” For Google to offer a low-cost or subsidised device would fit in with the company’s strategy to leapfrog with wireless technology in emerging markets, said analysts consulted by CNet. Charles Glovin, a senior analyst in the telecom research group of Forrester Research (Cambridge, Massachusetts), told Ms Mills: “There are going to be a billion or more mobile-phone subscribers in the next few years, and these are people who not only have never used a mobile phone before, but also have never used the Internet before. Their first experience of the Internet is likely to be on a mobile phone, not a PC.” May the Gphone, if it materialises, make its users as happy as the workforce at Google Inc headquarters in Mountain View, ✆

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

Telecom news

Nokia said it expects market share at roughly the same level in fourth- quarter 2007. Ms Lagorce reported that the average selling price of a handset fell to $118 from $130 in the second quarter as the proportion of phones sold in the under-$43 segment increa- sed significantly. “Our main competitor seems to be steering away from that market,” said Nokia’s president and chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo during a conference call with MarketWatch . He said, however, that the point is not for his company ‘to be as cheap as possible but to be cheaper than [its] competitors.’ Sales at the telecom equipment joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks rose 7% sequentially to $5.3 billion in the third quarter, for which the venture reported an operating loss of $172.7 million. There is no year-earlier comparison because the Finnish- German venture began operating only in second-quarter 2007. And Networks said on 25 th September that it had won a long-term maintenance order from Deutsche Telekom for Juniper Networks’ routers in the German company’s broadband network. Financial details were not disclosed, but Networks said the deal would significantly cut the operating costs of the network. Nokia is buying US navigation- software maker Navteq Corp for around $8.1 billion. Chicago-based Navteq, which has some 3,000 employees in 30 countries, maintains digital maps for licensing to global positioning systems and websites. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia’s CEO, said that location-based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia’s Internet services strategy. The acqui- sition of Navteq is another step toward Nokia ‘becoming a leading player in this space,’ Mr Kallasvuo told reporters in Stockholm, on 1 st October. The Navteq map data business is to be organised as a Nokia group company but operate independently. Elsewhere in telecom . . . Alcatel-Lucent on 24 th September announced that it had won orders from subsidiaries of two Chinese mobile phone operators to provide network optimisation services. The Paris-based equipment maker said three subsidiaries of China Mobile had selected it to optimise their wireless networks in Shanghai, and ✆ ✆ ✆ Nokia has been making news on other fronts:

in Guizhou and Shanxi provinces. For the China Unicom unit Inner Mongolia Unicom, Alcatel-Lucent would optimise a network in Inner Mongolian province. The value of the contracts, which were to be fulfilled by the end of 2007, was not disclosed. Motorola Inc (Schaumburg, Illinois) said on 7 th October that it had been awarded two contracts to provide a Taiwanese telecom operator with WiMax network infrastructure. WiMax technology makes possible Internet service facilities similar to the Wi-Fi ‘hotspots’ found in airports and other public places, but over a much broader area. The US telecommunications equip- ment giant said it will provide WiMax equipment to Far EasTone Telecom, which commands about one-third of the wireless mobile market of Taiwan. Chicago Tribune reporter James P Miller wrote that the deal was made in connection with Far EasTone’s role in the national Mobile Taiwan (or M-Taiwan) project intended to make wireless broadband access available almost everywhere on the island of Taiwan. Motorola did not disclose financial terms of its participation. Following its successful bid for GSM-1800 licenses in four regions of Siberia, Russian CDMA-450 operator SkyLink announced it now intends to develop a CDMA/GSM (code division multiple access/global system for mobile communications) multi-standard network, with the first GSM services to launch this year. As reported in TeleGeography (26 th October), SkyLink’s director general Gul’nara Khasianova told an industry conference that her company plans to implement CDMA/ GSM services in most regions of Russia by 2011, and will participate in further upcoming GSM spectrum auctions to further this goal. Ms Khasianova also told TG that SkyLink is considering three addi- tional regions in which to obtain GSM concessions and construct networks, utilising CDMA roaming to further extend its national coverage. She estimated the cost of GSM network construction in one region at around $10 million, but predicted that the outlay would be recouped within five years. SkyLink, part of the Sistema group, already provides CDMA2000 1xEV-DO wireless ser- vices in the 450MHz frequency band.

The Russian wireless provider MegaFon plans to launch a commercial 3G (third-generation) mobile network in Moscow in the second half of 2008, a company spokesperson has told the media company RBC, which runs the business channel RBC-TV. MegaFon said on 26 th October that it is working with rival UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) license holders MTS and Vimpelcom to ‘clear the frequencies’ in the city. Earlier in the month MegaFon launched Russia’s first W-CDMA service, covering parts of St Petersburg. The French telecommunications company Iliad plans to build a fibre optic communications net- work throughout Paris, where it has its headquarters. Iliad said the five-year development of the $1.43 billion network would begin this year. Building and owning its own fibre optics network would permit the company to save on renting telephone lines from France Télécom, Iliad said. Any excess capacity on the new network would be leased to competitors. Michael Boukobza, Iliad’s chief executive, said at a 12 th September news conference in Paris: “Demand for bandwidth is showing no sign of abating.” Sweden’s Ericsson, the world’s biggest builder of mobile phone networks, took the industry by surprise with its 17 th October announcement of a 36% drop in third-quarter profit as some wireless operators were reported beginning to work together to limit costs. The company, which has 45% of the $35 billion market for mobile network equipment and software, said the downturn had been driven by weaker-than-expected demand in Europe and the US. Some operators in those two markets are pooling networks, and some new competitors are renting network access instead of building their own systems. Despite reassurances from Carl- Henric Svanberg, the president and chief executive of Ericsson, news of the bad quarter caused the company’s shares to drop 23.8%, to $3.11, in trading in Stockholm. At least some investors will have read into the announcement confirmation of a slowdown in demand for the new third-generation wireless networks being built for high-speed delivery of mobile data. The telecom industry is having to adapt as the growth in demand for mobile data continues to lag earlier market predictions.

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

电信 新闻

诺基亚的业绩非常引人瞩目。净收入从 一年前的 12.2 亿美元上升到 22 亿美元， 推翻了道琼斯金融通讯社采访的七名分 析家的预测。 销售额上升了 28% ，达到 186 亿美元。 诺基亚本季度出货 1.117 亿部手机，比上 年同期上升 26% 。 Lagorce 女士总结诺基亚的成就为：在 过去两个季度中，诺基亚表明由于其继 续在新兴市场中扩张(最低价手机仅售 20 美元)，它能够同时增加销售量、利 润和市场份额。 诺基亚的业绩使许多业界观察家大掉眼 镜。据 Strategy Analytics 无线业务部门 的副主任 Neil Mawston 表示，诺基亚无 线业务部门的经营性利润高速增长使人 大为惊诧。 Ga r t ne r 无线业务部门的研究主任 Carolina Milanesi 在接收《市场观察》 采访时表示：“诺基亚进行了大量节省 成本的工作，而且确实做到了基层，落 到了实处。” 诺基亚称其市场份额在二季度从 38% 上 升到了 39% ，而 2006 年三季度的市场份 额为 36% 。增长的主要来源是北美，其 次是亚太和中国。诺基亚表示据自己预 测， 2007 年四季度的份额将持稳在这个 水平上。 Lagorce 女士报道称由于低于 43 美元的 市场份额的增加，二季度手机的平均销 售价格从 118 美元下降到了 130 美元。 诺基亚总裁和首席执行官 Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo 在接收《市场观察》会议电话 采访时表示“我们的主要竞争对手似乎 对这个市场重视不够。” 他又表示，这不证明诺基亚手机“要尽 量便宜”，“而是只要比竞争对手便宜 就够了。” 摩托罗拉（伊利诺斯州绍姆堡） 10 月 7 日称赢得了一家台湾电信公 司兴建 WiMax 网络基础设施的两个 合同。 WiMax 技术可以提供与机场 和其他公共场所常用的 Wi-Fi 类似 的“热点”因特网服务设施，但带 宽更宽。 EasTone Te l ecom 提供 WiMa x 设备。 Fa r EasTone 占台湾无线市场的三分之 一。《芝加哥论坛报》记者 James P Miller 报道称该交易与 FarEasTone 与 国有的台湾移动（ M-Taiwan ）的合 作项目有关，旨在建设覆盖全岛的 宽带无线接入。摩托罗拉没有透露 合同的具体金额。 摩托罗拉表示将为 Far ✆ 其他电信新闻. . .

10 月 25 日，意大利投资者和西班牙 Telefónica SA 完成了对意大利电信非控股股 份的购买，这样这家西班牙电信公司成功打入了意大利电信市场的主导公司。在 这次股份购买中， Telefónica 、银行 Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca 、保险公 司 Generali 和控股公司 Sintonia 联合出资 59.5 亿美元从 Pirelli SpA 手中购买了这家 欧洲排名第五的电信公司 18% 的股份。预计这次出售讲给 Pirelli 带来 47.6 亿美元 的利润。 与其他已经持有的这家意大利最大电信公司的直接股份一道，此次从 Pirelli 采 购的股份将用于筹建新的控股公司 Telco 。 Telco 将控制意大利电信 23.6% 的股 份。作为世界最大的固定电话和移动电话公司， Telefónica 将出资 33 亿美元购买 Telco 42.3% 的股份。这样，西班牙的 Telefónica 将获得意大利电信 9.9% 的投票 股权。 Wildt 在米兰的报道，意大利电信表示此次购并将促 进在两公司开展业务的国家在新服务购买和销售方面的合作，并共同拓展新市 场。据 5 月的消息，该协议正在等候巴西电信监管当局的审查。意大利电信和 Telefónica 在当地均拥有移动电话公司。巴西监管当局 10 月份批准了该交易，但 附有条件，称两公司必须在巴西分开营运。 西班牙 Telefónica 和意大利合作伙伴购入 Pirelli 持有的意大 利电信股份 根据路透社记者 Mathias

Google 准备推出 Google 电话 ?

( HTC )将为 Gphone 操作系统的开发商 交付 5 万部手机。 Mills 评论说：“到目 前 iPhone 的出货量已经达到 140 万部， 而且仅仅是开始。” 据 Cnet 咨询的电信研究集团 Forrester Research (马萨诸塞州剑桥市)的高 级分析师 Charles Glovin 的看法，对 Google 而言，提供一种低成本或者有补 贴的产品符合公司采用无线技术在新兴 市场进行“大跃进”的战略。 他表示：“在今后几年会有 10 亿或者更 多移动电话用户，其中包括某些从来没 有用过手机也没有用过因特网的人。他 们与因特网的邂逅很可能是在手机上， 而不是在个人电脑上。” 如果 Gphone 成为现实，是否其用户 与在加州 Mountain View 的 Google 员 工一样高兴呢 ? 根据美联社 10 月 24 日 的报道，有大约 5% 的美国企业为 员工提供保姆式服务，但其中最全 面当属 Google 。除了舒适且免费的 上下班交通， Google 还提供多种多 样的其他免费服务，包括洗车、换 油、按摩、理发、干洗、儿童护理 和现场健康护理。 诺基亚移动电话利润增长迅速 随着市场份额的进一步增长，世界最 大移动电话制造商诺基亚 10 月 18 日宣布 三季度利润增长 85% 。《市场观察》 ( MarketWatch )高级通讯记者 Aude J Lagorce 从伦敦报道说公司的移动设备 经营性利润从一年前的 13.1% 增长到目 前的 22.6% ，证明诺基亚在总量增长和 利润增长之间找到了良好平衡。 ✆

自 2004 年底就有传言称 Google 要推 出电话服务，而且越演越烈。但根 据 CNet 的 Elinor Mills 的说法“寻找 Google 电话服务就像在寻找大脚怪。” 假定 Google 在筹备电话服务，那么电 话可能是什么样子呢 ? Mills 女士透露 说，与苹果的 iPhone 不同， Gphone 不 是硬件设备。根据她咨询的专家， Gphone 可能是一个软件包加上支持 设备，用来支持任何公司生产的电话 访问 Google 服务。(见 10 月 24 日 CNET News.com “寻找 Google 电话”) 任何超过这个说法的预测基本都是空 想。但在 Mills 女士采访的对象中有作 家 Stephen Arnold 。他的作品包括 《 Google 遗产》和新书《 Google 第 二版：计算领域的肉食者》。他对 Google 公司的以及其异乎寻常的公司 文化的有深入了解。 Google 公司告诫 员工：“不要使坏”。 Arnold 研究了 Google 的专利，发现十多个都与移动电 话有关。根据他的看法， Google 很有可 能与法国电信的移动部门 Orange 以及日 本的 KDDI 合作。 在接受 CNET News Com 采访时， Arnold 表示：“有可能会推出 Google 电 话的样本，而且不止一个。这些电话将 与 Googleplex 服务捆绑，提供的功能包 括智能搜索(对准备搜索的信息进行预 测)、地图服务和日历服务。 Google 准 备采用多种方式应对市场反应。” 据 CNet 采访的一位 UBS 分析师的预 测，到 2007 年底，台湾手机制造商宏达

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008

From the americas

Statue of Liberty Image from BigStockPhoto.com Photographer: Marty

firms use online recruitment techniques dismissed by many traditional pollsters. (‘Chinese Search Engine Comes Up No 3,’ 15 th October) Of related interest . . . The Nielsen Company, a New York-based provider of consumer and media information services, announced 18 th October that it had reached an agreement in principle for outsourcing a portion of its information technology (IT) and operations functions worldwide to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT services, business solutions, and outsourcing organisation based in Mumbai. Under the proposed 10-year agreement, valued at approximately $1.2 billion, the Indian company would assume responsibility for important IT and operational processes of Nielsen’s and help the American company integrate and centralise systems, technologies, and processes on a global scale. TCS said it will take direct responsibility for a Nielsen team based in Baroda, Gujarat. ❖ Google, the Internet search engine, is the brainchild of Google Inc (Mountain View, California), whose mission is ‘to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’ On 20 th September, the Australian trade news service Communications Day reported the company’s latest initiative in support of that ambition: a plan to lay its own data communications cable across the Pacific Ocean. Under the umbrella name Unity, the Google project would include several telecommunications companies. According to the Australian report the group hopes to have a cable in service by 2009. Google’s dedicated portion of the multi- terabit cable would, of course, give it a significant cost advantage over rival Internet companies transmitting over the same route. Writing in the technology section of the New York Times , Saul Hansell noted that, while a Google spokesman in Australia declined to comment, CommDay reported that the company had run advertisements seeking people to ‘be involved in new projects or investments in cable systems that Google may contemplate to extend or grow its backbone.’ (‘Has Google Plans to Lay a Pacific Cable?’ 21 st September) Mr Hansell outlined what a longer, stronger backbone might mean to Google: “[The company] has long been buying up data communications capacity. Its search engine works by making copies of nearly every page of the Internet in its own data centres, requiring that it move no small amount of data around the world on a regular basis. And its new plans to deliver applications over the Internet will use even more bandwidth.” Dave Burstein, the editor of DSLPrime , who tipped off the Times to the CommDay report, told Mr Hansell that, even though there is a lot of unused fibre capacity across Google is mulling a plan for a Pacific submarine cable

Cyberspace

Inaugural report of Internet search engines finds Chinese-language Baidu.com right behind Google and Yahoo!

For business clients, the marketing research company ComScore Inc (Reston, Virginia) tracks the online behaviour of Internet users. On 10 th October, ComScore reported on the first comprehensive study of search engine activity worldwide, derived from data generated by its own qSearch 2.0 service. The resulting view of the search universe – gathered from the top 50 worldwide Internet properties – is claimed, plausibly, to be ‘panoramic.’ As indicated by the searches counted in the single month of August 2007, the extent of this activity is extraordinary. The ComScore study found that more than 750 million people aged 15 and older – or 95% of the worldwide Internet audience – instituted 61 billion searches, an average of more than 80 searches per searcher. Some other notable findings of the study: The Asia-Pacific region, including the large Chinese, Japanese, and Indian markets, saw 258 million unique searchers conduct 20.3 billion searches in August. Europe was next, reporting 210 million searchers performing 18 billion searches; followed by North America, with 206 million searchers and 16 billion searches. The Latin American region demonstrated the heaviest search activity per person, with more than 95 searches per searcher in the month. The search market in the Middle East-Africa region was the most under- developed, with the fewest searchers (30 million), searches (2 billion), and searches per searcher (70) No surprise, Google Inc ranked as the top worldwide search property in August, with 37.1 billion searches conducted. Of that total, 31 billion were initiated at the Google search engine and 5 billion at YouTube.com. In second place was Yahoo! with 8.5 billion searches. Both are US-based. What may have come as a surprise, however, is that the Chinese-language search engine Baidu.com took third place, with more than 3.2 billion searches in the month. China is one of the few countries in which Google is not dominant. Microsoft, of the US, ranked fourth worldwide; while Korea’s NHN Corp, which owns Naver.com, ranked fifth with 2 billion searches. Bob Ivins, ComScore’s executive vice president, told the Los Angeles Times that Baidu shows how one regional player ‘can break into the top five globally by its complete control of a very, very large market,’ and that Baidu’s numbers would likely keep increasing along with the growing online population in China. Anick Jesdanun, of the Times, noted that the numbers provided by ComScore and its rival Nielsen/NetRatings are closely watched by industry analysts, even as the measuring ❖ ❖ ❖

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2008