Shares in BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) slipped by as much as seven per cent in extended trading on December 15 as the under pressure handset manufacturer reported another disappointing quarter, provided a weak sales outlook for the current period and pushed back the launch of its new device line.

For the quarter ended November 26, net income came in at US$265 million, down 70 per cent from a year ago, while sales came in at US$5.17 billion, down from US$5.5 billion. Although RIM had earlier warned of the poor numbers, the figures were still below most analyst forecasts.

The company sold 14.1 million devices in the quarter, increasing its BlackBerry subscriber base to 75 million, up 5 million on the previous quarter. However, it shipped just 150,000 units of its PlayBook tablet.

More bad news was revealed on the earnings call by co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, who said that the first devices running the new BlackBerry 10 operating system would not now appear until late next year. The delay is apparently due to the firm having to wait on critical chipsets becoming available.

The delay could be highly damaging for the firm as it struggles to keep pace with rivals such as Apple.

The guidance for RIM’s current quarter – which includes the key holiday sales period – was also below par. The firm guided that profit will be between US$0.80 and US$0.95 per share, and said that sales will be between US$4.6 billion and US$4.9 billion. Analysts had projected profit of US$1.08 a share and sales of US$4.85 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

RIM said it expects BlackBerry shipments in the quarter to be between 11 million to 12 million. Analysts had projected 12.8 million units.

In a statement, RIM said that it “continues to have strong technology, unique service capabilities and a large installed base of customers, and we are more determined than ever to capitalise on our strengths to overcome the recent execution challenges surrounding product launches and the resulting financial performance.”

Its two co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, have agreed to take a pay-cut to just US$1 while they work through the problems. The firm faced renewed calls from shareholders to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive, which are currently held jointly by both Lazaridis and Balsillie.

State owned telco, Telecom Namibia has acquired its mobile network rival, Leo for an undisclosed amount and will fold the company into its own mobile services.

Leo was owned by Telecel Globe, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom and was sold to a consortium of banks for US$60 million earlier this year.

Telecom Namibia chairman, Joseph Iita told local media that a formal announcement will be made later, but that the government is supportive of the deal.

ADTRAN, a provider of next-generation networking solutions, announced today that it plans to acquire, through an asset sale and purchase agreement, the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) fixed line Broadband Access business (BBA), and associated professional services and network management solutions. The planned acquisition would include the Broadband Access intellectual properties, technologies and the established customer base.

As part of this planned transaction, up to approximately 400 people, including engineering, R&D, sales and professional services employees, are expected to transfer to ADTRAN globally. The agreement also includes provisions that would allow ADTRAN solutions to be incorporated by NSN into its customer propositions, broadening ADTRAN’s business opportunities.

The planned transaction is expected to close by the end of April 2012 subject to the completion of a consultation process with certain employees and their representatives, finalisation of transition services agreements and customary closing conditions.

Terms of the deal with respect to the amount ADTRAN is set to pay NSN were not disclosed.

American Tower and South Africa’s MTN Group have established a joint venture tower company in Uganda, which will acquire all of the existing tower sites from MTN Uganda, numbering approximately 1,000, for an agreed purchase price of up to US$175 million.

The towers will be managed by a holding company (ATC Uganda) in which American Tower will hold a 51 per cent stake and MTN Group 49 per cent. American Tower will pay approximately US$89 million for its stake in the new holding company. MTN Uganda will remain the anchor tenant on the towers, on commercial terms.

American Tower also expects that ATC Uganda will build approximately 280 tower sites for MTN Uganda over the next three years, as well as pursue opportunities to build tower sites for other wireless operators in Uganda.

Upon the close of the transaction, ATC Uganda will be the largest owner and operator of sites in Uganda.

Afghanistan mobile operator Roshan has signed an exclusive Partner Market agreement with Vodafone.

Under the agreement Roshan customers will have access to a wider range of products and services, improved voice and data roaming services in countries where Vodafone is active, and added expertise through ongoing workshops, site visits, and product innovation.

In parallel, Vodafone will use Roshan’s network while roaming in Afghanistan.

The Partner Market agreement also builds on Roshan’s existing partnership with Vodafone on M-Paisa, which uses Vodafone’s technology and Roshan’s network to provide the first mobile money service to Afghanistan. M-Paisa recently completed a software upgrade to enable international money transfer.