Operators

Telecompaper reports that Telecom Italia will become only the second operator to launch HTC's Android-powered Dream device.

French broadband provider Iliad appears confident of winning the country's fourth 3G license, with a Dow Jones Newswires report noting that the company states it will need to invest a maximum of EUR1 billion to set up the network, covering 90 percent of the population.

Sweden's Ericsson - the world's largest mobile infrastructure vendor - today announced it has won a deal to supply China Unicom with 3G WCDMA kit in 15 provinces.

TeleGeography, citing a Reuters report, notes that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has confirmed a deal for Zain to secure a major stake in PalTel could be signed in the next few days.

Telenor has completed its acquisition of Unitech Wireless and made its first investment of INR 12.5 billion (US$250 million) in the Indian Greenfield operator. Telenor's ownership stake is currently 33.5 percent, but further investments during the course of this year (totalling INR48.7 billion) will take its eventual share to 67.25 percent.

Reuters reports that Orange, the Kenyan unit of France Telecom, plans to spend KES8 billion (US$99 million) this year to develop its network.

Vodafone and Telefonica have confirmed recent speculation that they are to share network infrastructure across Europe in what is considered the largest ever deal of its kind. UK-based Vodafone and Spain's Telefonica said in a joint statement this morning they would share mobile network assets in four European markets where both have operations - Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK - while discussions are ongoing to extend the agreement to a fifth market, the Czech Republic.