Wireless Federation

Mobile retailer The Phone House plans to launch as a MVNO in the Netherlands in the second quarter. The company has secured a deal to use KPN’s network and will start off with prepaid services under the name Mobile World, commercial director John Werry told Telecompaper. The Carphone Warehouse subsidiary already has MVNOs in several other countries, including the UK, Belgium and Spain. In Belgium it also works with KPN’s unit BASE. For the Phone House retail operations, the company plans to expand the number of stores in the Netherlands to around 200 by the end of the year, from 176 currently, while also increasing the number of staff and franchises.

Source- Wireless Mobile Telecom

The Netherlands is set to welcome the latest company looking to launch mobile services in the country, when i-Wood enters the fray in the first quarter of 2007 on the back of a major advertising campaign. According to reports from online news portal Telecompaper, the newcomer plans to offer low-cost handsets and services in return for subscribers agreeing to ‘permanent banner ads on their phone displays’. Huib Kloosterhuis, the former CEO at debitel Netherlands and now a partner at i-Wood, told Telecompaper that the advertising banner requires the installation of Windows-compatible software on the handset. It plans to subsidise the cost of its phones and says it is in talks with mobile network operators over the timetable for launch.

Wireless Mobile Telecom

Dutch start-up i-Wood plans to launch a mobile service backed by advertising in the first quarter of 2007. Huib Kloosterhuis, former debitel Netherlands CEO and a partner at i-Wood, told Telecompaper in an interview that the company will offer low-priced handsets and services in exchange for subscribers agreeing to permanent banner ads on their phone displays. The advertising requires the installation of software on Windows-compatible phones. I-Wood plans to subsidise the cost of the handset, and is in talks with network operators for the launch.Initially i-Wood will target user groups with a clear profile, in order to attract advertisers looking for a specific user group. Banners will be sent automatically to the phones, with i-Wood keeping track of click-throughs and page views of websites behind the banners. The company expects advertisers will be willing to pay a premium for the one-to-one contact with consumers, with Kloosterhuis estimating the cost to advertisers at EUR 1.00-2.50 per end-user, per month. Later on i-Wood plans to allow subscribers to choose advertisers in their areas of interest, reducing the cost of their subscription by selecting multiple advertisers, or paying an additional small fee for a customised information feed to their phone.

Wireless Mobile Telecom

The Dutch state is selling its remaining 10.9 percent stake in Dutch mail firm TNT (TNT.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) for about 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion), completing the privatisation of the former Dutch telecoms and post monopoly.

The finance ministry said on Tuesday it would sell 27.8 million shares to institutional investors, with Citigroup and UBS acting as lead managers and bookrunners. It will sell another 18.2 million shares to TNT, which plans to cancel them.
After the deal is completed, the government will no longer be a shareholder in TNT, which was created in 1998 through a demerger from telecoms group KPN (KPN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research). The state already sold its last stake in KPN in September.

TNT shares fell 0.65 percent to 32.17 euros by 1057 GMT, while dealers said the size of the placement was putting pressure on the shares.

“It is a large chunk to place. The stock is almost fully valued close to our target price, so I think the market is going to have a difficult time digesting that block,” a dealer said.

Dealers said the placing was in a price range of 32.2 euros to 32.3 euros.

TNT has been the subject of repeated takeover speculation over the past year. Analysts say rivals UPS (UPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) or FedEx (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) would gain a stronger foothold in Europe if they were to buy TNT’s European express delivery business.

Source-  reuters  Wireless Mobile Telecom

Vodafone Group’s Dutch mobile arm has purchased domestic virtual network services provider The Network Factory (TNF), writes Telecompaper. No financial details were disclosed, but acquiring TNF, which owns no network infrastructure of its own but has contracts in place with carriers such as KPN, BBned and all the major cablecos, will enable Vodafone to offer broadband services to the enterprise market delivering voice and data communication on mobile and fixed network platforms. It has been cooperating with TNF for many years, but by buying the company, it hopes to strengthen its position in the Dutch market for business services.

Source-  telegeography Wireless Mobile Telecom

CHENNAI: Philips Electronics, a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics is keen on the mobile handset market in India.

Highly placed officials told CyberMedia News that the company is interested to regain its lost position in the handset market by reentering it in the next couple of months.

“Philips will be launching four or five new models in the coming months, targeted at the mid-segment and all would be priced in the Rs 7, 000 to Rs 12, 000 price range,� they said, adding that to keep the price level-low, the company has signed up with China Electronic Corporation (CEC) for manufacturing and marketing of the handsets in Philips brand name.

The company had signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to transfer its remaining mobile phone activities with CEC, about a week back.

According to the terms of the agreement CEC will take over the responsibility for Philips’ Mobile Phones business, which currently has an annual turnover of approximately €400 million and approximately 240 employees, mainly in Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe.

Under the terms of the letter of intent, CEC will receive a global license to market and sell mobile phones under the Philips brand for the coming five years.

However, the transaction is still subject to confirmatory due diligence. The transaction will be conditional on all required shareholder, government and regulatory approvals and consents and is to be completed by the end of 2006.

Source- http://www.ciol.com

Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), the third-largest GCC telecom firm by market value, posted an 80 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit.

MTC said it achieved a profit of KD83.86 million ($290.1 million) in the third quarter, or equivalent to earnings per share of 68 fils, a company official said.

The average forecast in a recent survey of three analysts was for earnings growth of 87.3 per cent from the same period in 2005.

Kuwait’s second-largest company by market value said in a statement that it had a record nine-month net profit of KD223 million, up 63 per cent compared with last year.

Nine-month earnings per share hit 180 fils, up 29 per cent from 140 fils a year ago.

Revenues rose 114 per cent in the first nine months of 2006 to 849 million dinars.

‘The profits reflected the strong operational performance of the MTC Group companies,’ said chairman Assad Al Banwan, adding operating profits accounted for a large percentage of earnings.

‘MTC is reaping the fruits of its successful expansion strategy … of swift and studied growth in the markets of the Middle East and Africa,’ he said in the statement.

MTC made a net profit of KD46.49 million in the third quarter last year.

MTC and other Arab telecoms companies, buoyed by record earnings and oil revenues generated by their government shareholders, have been on a spending spree in the last 18 months, buying companies from Pakistan and Italy to Africa.

MTC paid $3.36 billion for Netherlands-based Celtel International which operates in sub-Saharan Africa.

‘This (profit) is all attributed to the expansion undertaken by the company in the region and in Africa when they bought Celtel,’ said Ahmad Al Quraishi, director of local investments at Bayan Investment.

On Oct 8, MTC chief executive Saad Al Barrak said the firm expected to double profit this year to a record KD375 million. MTC’s stock rose to record high three days later.

MTC will push on with efforts to maximise its revenues and profits by seeking promising investment opportunities in new markets, chairman Banwan said.

He said Saudi Arabia was currently a priority, adding that the Saudi telecommunications authority will start accepting bids as of January 20 for the country’s third mobile phone licence.

Barrak said in the statement that MTC, which has 25 million subscribers in 20 countries, was studying more than one opportunity in West Africa.

MTC ‘wants to increase its presence in the Western wing of the continent after it has boosted its presence in the eastern flank through the markets of Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Tanzania and Madagascar,’ Barrak added in the statement.

He said the company finished the third quarter with a big jump in the number of subscribers, up 100 percent from the same period in 2005. MTC’s compounded annual growth rate of users numbers has reached 137 per cent, he said.

MTC’s African unit Celtel is now covering 35 per cent of the continent through operations in 14 sub-Saharan African nations with a combined population of 400 million, Barrak said.

‘This indicates that high growth rates await the MTC Group operational activities,’ Barrak added.Reuters

Source- http://www.tradearabia.com

Maastricht, 12 October 2006 - The Dutch government again chooses Vodafone as one of the companies where different governmental bodies can tender their complete mobile telephony package. Vodafone is one of the operators chosen in the tender for the clusters ‘mobile’ and ‘fixed-mobile’. After a thorough selection, the government centrally chooses a limited number of telephony providers from which the different governmental bodies can choose. It is the second time that the government chooses for Vodafone. The previous tender dates back to 2000 when the government also picked Vodafone as one of her suppliers for mobile communication.

Jeroen Hoencamp, Director Enterprise Business Unit: “We feel greatly recognized in our aim to provide our customers with the best products and services. Now that after six years the government again prefers Vodafone it is the best proof that we meet the expectations of the government.”

The signing of the umbrella agreement ‘OverheidsTelefonie 2006′ (OT2006) follows intense negotiations. Vodafone made a strong offer where quality, reliability, innovative power and value for money were decisive. A combination of elements that are crucial for the government. In the coming months various governmental bodies will make their own choice. The governmental bodies entail Ministries, agencies, local governments, independent administrative bodies, educational- and health care institutions.

About Vodafone Libertel N.V.:
Vodafone is one of the largest mobile telecommunications companies in the Netherlands and is part of the worldwide Vodafone Group, the world’s leading telecommunications company for mobile telephony with almost 187 million customers on five continents. The Vodafone Group has holdings in the share capital of mobile operators in 27 countries and collaborative arrangements with partner networks in 33 countries.

Source- http://www.noticias.info

Dutch mobile operator KPN has started offering HSDPA services in major cities and expects to have coverage of 90 percent of the population by the start of December. The service offers download speeds of up to 1.8 Mbps and uplink at up to 384 Kbps. In addition to the two existing mobile data subscriptions, Flat Fee for EUR 79.95 at maximum available speed and 2 GB per month and Flat Fee Lite for EUR 34.95 per month at lower speeds with 200 MB, KPN is introducing the Flat Fee Comfort subscription for EUR 49.95 per month, offering download speeds of up to 768 Kbps and upload at up to 384 Kbps with a data limit of 1 GB. Comfort and Lite users pay EUR 0.25 for each additional MB over the limit, while Flat Fee users are subject to a fair use policy of 2 GB. KPN is the third operator to launch HSDPA in the Netherlands, after Vodafone and T-Mobile.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com

The Dutch government agreed to sell its remaining 8 percent stake in Royal KPN NV, the biggest Dutch phone company, for about 1.7 billion euros ($2.17 billion) to lower debt.

KPN will buy 80 million shares for about 800 million euros, The Hague-based company said today in an e-mail. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. are today selling 87 million to money managers, the banks said in an e-mail to clients.

The Dutch state is selling stakes to foster competition and generate cash to pay down debt. The government has raised at least 10 billion euros since 2003 selling stakes in 18 companies including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV and TNT NV, which operates the Dutch postal service, before today.

“The government is a smart investor and usually picks the right time to sell,'’ said Philippe Kiewiet de Jonge at ABN Amro Asset Management in Amsterdam, who helps manage 480 million euros, including KPN shares. “It means something that the state is selling against this price. From this level, KPN needs an extra push to rise.'’

Shares of KPN, headed by Chief Executive Officer Ad Scheepbouwer, fell as much as 19 cents, or 1.9 percent, to 9.85 euros and traded at 9.88 euros as of 10:05 a.m. in Amsterdam. Before today, shares had gained 19 percent this year, while the benchmark AEX-index rose 9.5 percent.

Swisscom, Telekom Transactions

European governments have been cutting stakes in their country’s former phone monopolies as they further open up telecommunication markets. Switzerland’s government last week sold a $1.8 billion stake in Swisscom AG, the country’s largest phone company, three months after lawmakers blocked a proposal to sell the shares to the public.

In April, Germany’s state-owned development bank sold a 2.68 billion-euro stake in Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe’s largest phone company, to Blackstone Group LP, a New York-based buyout firm.

The Dutch government first sold shares in an initial public offering in KPN in 1994 and owned 8 percent of the company before today’s sale, according to the Web site of the Finance Ministry.

In December, the state gave up its golden share in KPN, which gave it veto rights over decisions such as mergers, takeovers and share sales, removing a hurdle to a potential takeover of the former Dutch phone monopoly.

Lowering Borrowings

The Dutch state plans to use the proceeds of about 1.7 billion euros to lower borrowings, said Finance ministry spokesman William Lelieveldt. NM Rothschild & Sons Ltd. advised the Dutch government on the sale.

The Netherlands’ debt is forecast to drop to 265.3 billion euros next year from 265.7 billion euros in 2006, according to the 2007 budget presented to parliament by Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm on Sept. 19.

KPN is eliminating about 8,000 jobs by the end of 2009 to increase profit margins. The company is also investing in services such as digital television as customers flee its traditional phone service for competitors including Tele2 AB.

Takeover Target?

“This step might further increase takeover speculation,'’ Frank Claassen, an analyst at Rabo Securities in Amsterdam, wrote in a note to investors. “We did not consider this last 8 percent stake of the Dutch state to be a major hurdle.'’ He rates KPN shares “hold.'’

“KPN may indeed be a takeover target, but it may easily take another'’ one to two years, according to Claassen.

The company said last month second-quarter net income doubled to 464 million euros on job cuts, higher German mobile revenue and new services including Internet calls. The company raised its full-year earnings forecast.

Source- http://www.bloomberg.com

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