• AT&T said Kevin Maher is the new regional vice president of the Middle East and Africa, based in the carrier’s new regional headquarters in Dubai Internet City. Regional customers will connect to a new node in Saudi Arabia.
• SeaChange International announced the $4.5 million acquisition of all the outstanding shares of Mobix Interactive, a U.K.-based company that provides software, content aggregation services and branded content for mobile phone operators. Mobix’s current customers include U.K. network operators 02 (Telefonica Europe plc) and 3 (Hutchison Whampoa), as well as Vodacom of South Africa. In addition, it has working relationships with content providers Warner Music Group, Turner and MGM Universal.
• Qualcomm’s MediaFLO USA and Scripps Networks announced FOOD NETWORK, a new FLO TV lifestyle service that gives AT&T Mobile TV customers a “feast” of home and cooking programming in time for their Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's and bowl game celebrations. It is Scripps Networks' first mobile TV offering and will air content that includes bites of programming favorites from Food Network, as well as HGTV shows such as "Myles of Style" and "Design on a Dime," and popular shows from DIY Network and Fine Living Network. FOOD will run mid-November through Feb. 3, 2009.
• Mobile e-mail specialist Synchronica announced a group-wide agreement with a major, unnamed mobile operator group that provides telecom services in Europe and to the growing emerging markets of Eurasia. The agreement represents Synchronica's largest contract by number of addressable subscribers as it will make Synchronica's Mobile Gateway available to all subsidiaries of the group, which has more than 100 million subscribers worldwide.
• Playfon said it will provide development of multimedia content and technical support for selected Nokia models in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belorussia and Georgia.
• Calgary-based Zi Corporation announced that TCT Mobile International, a China-based mobile handset manufacturer of the TCL and Alcatel brands, has signed a multi-year license renewal with Zi for its predictive text technology, eZiText, in 39 languages.