WCA November 2008

increases in IT expenditure in 2009. London-based Datamonitor says the downward trend has been developing over the last couple of years, and is not a function of current economic conditions. The Business Standard (New ✆ ✆ Delhi) reported 22 nd September that India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) was unlikely to address the con- cerns of prospective foreign players over the quantity of third-generation mobile phone standards and technology (3G) spectrum that will be up for sale, although it has acknowledged that 5MHz is not adequate to launch the suite of this high-end service. A senior DoT official said that – while operators were given more spectrum for 3G on a global basis – 5MHz is adequate for India, as ascertained by subscriber preference and usage, at least initially. While prospective 3G players in the home market do not see a problem, the issue has been raised by foreign

companies considering entry into the Indian market.

The plaintiffs are also suing vice president Dick Cheney, former attorney general Alberto Gonzales and others who ordered or participated in the warrantless domestic surveillance. The US Congress this year passed legislation granting domestic telecommunications firms im- munity from domestic spying lawsuits. Legal wrangling about the constitutionality of that act has stalled a suit brought by EFF in 2006 against AT&T, charging the US telecom giant with opening up its network to NSA agents without proper warrants. Similar litigation aimed at other telecom firms has also been held up. According to the latest report ✆ ✆ by the independent British mar- ket analyst firm Datamonitor, information technology budgets are expected to fall next year. “Technology Trends: Analyzing Global Enterprise IT Budgets 2008” discloses that the majority of enterprises globally are planning to cut back on projected

China Unicom Ltd and China ✆ ✆ Netcom Corp announced on 18 th September that they had gained final shareholder approval for their merger in a government- mandated telephone industry restructuring. its telecommunications market by reorganising the nation’s carriers into three groups – China Mobile Ltd, China Telecom Ltd and Unicom-Netcom – each with mobile and fixed-line assets. Presumably this will help to balance an industry in which fixed-line carriers are struggling while the popularity of mobile service has soared. Netcom brings a fixed-line network to the merger with Unicom, which contributes mobile service. Earlier, Unicom shareholders had approved a separate plan to sell one of the company’s mobile networks to China Telecom. Beijing’s intention is in to boost competition

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2008