Russia ended May with 194.7 million mobile subscribers, up by 1.9 million from April, according to Advanced Communications & Media.

Indian mobile operator Vodafone Essar has applied for a national long-distance (NLD) licence, as well as an ISP licence, according to the Economic Times.

Nigerian operator GiCell Wireless plans to invest over USD700 million in the next three years to deploy a low cost rural telephony network across the country, according to BusinessDay.

Far EasTone’s shareholders have approved the planned sale of a 12% stake to China Mobile, Dow Jones Newswire reports.

San Francisco-based start-up Boku has launched a mobile payment service that enables users to buy virtual goods offered on online games and social networks by submitting their phone number instead of credit card details. The charge is then included in the next phone bill.

Verizon Communications and AT&T have denied that they colluded in setting prices for text messages, insisting that prices had fallen for most customers and that the US market is competitive.

The UK government’s blueprint, Digital Britain, was published yesterday to a chorus of criticism, particularly regarding its lack of foresight on the role of mobile.