News In Brief: BT, ABI Research, Alcatel-Lucent, O2 Media, WIND Hellas

BT has taken the next step in an Asia Pacific expansion plan, launching its Onevoice with Microsoft Lync converged communications platform in the region. The telco estimates the market could generate revenues of £8 billion (€8.8 billion) or more per year.
 
Commercial LTE network operators will sign up 16 million subscribers by the year-end, ABI Research forecasts. However, the firm hints that it will take until 2014 for a mass market to develop, predicting that 205 million compatible handsets will ship that year.
 
Alcatel-Lucent and healthcare firm UPMC will launch a virtual examination room e-health service in 2013, under terms of an extended agreement announced yesterday.
 
O2 Media has signed up its first major UK supermarket chain to a location-based marketing service. The Co-operative Group will make special offers to registered users who come within half-a-mile of its stores via SMS until early June.
 
Greek telco WIND Hellas is seeking reliability and energy improvements through an upgrade to its IP network. Nokia Siemens is handling the modernization, installing a new backbone and Juniper Networks routers.