Blyk expands to Netherlands, raises more financing (UK)
Vodafone Netherlands has signed an agreement to provide network capacity to MVNO Blyk. The deal marks Blyk’s first expansion outside the UK, where it launched last September. The company, which offers free mobile services in exchange for viewing advertisements, expects to launch in the Netherlands in the second half of this year. According to Blyk, the Netherlands represents an attractive market for its advertisers, ranking among the three countries with the highest advertising spend per capita in Europe. Started by former Nokia president Pekka Ala-Pietila, Blyk targets 16- to 24-year-olds, collecting demographic information and statistics on their mobile use in order to target ads to their handsets. Blyk offers in the UK a SIM-only package with no contract obligation including 43 minutes and 217 texts per month in exchange for receiving up to six MMS ads each day. In the UK, Blyk uses the Orange network. The company has also announced a funding round with new investors Goldman Sachs and Industrial and Financial Investments Company. No details on the amount of the investment were released.
Brasil Telecom and Oi plan merger – Communications Minister
Brasil Telecom and the operator Oi are to merge, Brazil’s communications minister said, reported in Cinco Dias. Helio Costa said the government had received official communication that the two intend to merge, confirming rumours which have been in the market for months. Costa said the communications ministry would ask telecoms regulator Anatel on the procedure which the government should follow so that the merger “goes ahead and prospers”. A tie-up between Oi and Brasil Telecom would create a stronger rival to Spanish telephony giant Telefonica and Mexican magnate Carlos Slim’s operations in Brazil.
E-Plus reports 15 million customers (Germany)
KPN’s German mobile subsidiary E-Plus has signed up its 15 millionth customer, winning 900,000 new customers since the end of September 2007, when E-Plus reported 14.1 million customers. The 15 millionth customer chose a Base 2 contract, which is part of E-Plus’s portfolio of mobile flat-rates sold under the Base brand. E-Plus will publish its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2007 on 5 February.
Vodafone revenues up 16% to GBP 9.2 billion
Vodafone Group reported revenues for the quarter ended 31 December of GBP 9.163 billion, up 15.8 percent from the year-earlier period. Takeovers in Turkey and India and positive currency effects drove the increase, while organic growth was 4.4 percent. Proportionate for ownership, Vodafone finished the year with 252.3 million mobile customers, up by 10.8 million from September. Of the total, 24.7 million used 3G devices. Vodafone repeated its outlook for the fiscal year to March, for revenues of GBP 34.5-35.1 billion, while noting the recent strengthening in the euro could have an additional positive effect. Annual adjusted operating profit is estimated at GBP 9.5-9.9 billion, with a lower EBITDA margin year-on-year. Capital spending will reach GBP 4.7-5.0 billion for the full year, including GBP 1 billion in India.
In its core region Europe, Vodafone reported revenues up 7.3 percent to GBP 6.652 billion, with half the growth coming from exchange rate effects. Voice revenues showed an organic decline of 2.2 percent, hurt by cuts in termination and roaming rates, while messaging revenues increased 8.1 percent and data sales were up 35.5 percent on an oragnic basis. Voice usage increased 16.5 percent from a year ago, led by Germany and Italy. The region added a net 3.1 million new customers in the quarter, taking the total base to 109.1 million. The company’s fixed-line business generated revenues of GBP 462 million, with the Tele2 activities in Italy and Spain finishing the quarter with respectively 0.4 and 0.2 million ADSL customers.
In the EMAPA region, revenues jumped 46.8 percent to GBP 2.496 billion thanks to the takeover in India. Organic service revenue growth was 13.7 percent, with a 9.9 percent rise in Eastern Europe, the Pacific up 7.5 percent and the Middle East, Africa and Asia up 20.9 percent. The region added a net 7.7 million new customers in the quarter, of which 4.2 million in India, for a total abse of 112.0 million.
Orascom receives mobile licence in North Korea
Mobile operator Orascom Telecom has been granted a commercial licence to provide mobile telephony services in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea using WCDMA technology. The licence has been granted to Orascom’s subsidiary Cheo Technology which is controlled by Orascom Telecom with an ownership of 75 percent while the remaining 25 percent is owned by the state-owned Korea Post and Telecommunications. The terms of the licence allow Cheo to offer services to its customers throughout the country. The duration of the licence is 25 years with an exclusivity period of four years. Orascom Telecom intends to invest up to USD 400 million in network infrastructure and licence fees over the first three years in order to rapidly deploy a high-quality network and offer voice, data and value added services at accessible prices to the Korean people. OTH intends to cover Pyongyang and most of the major cities during the first twelve months of operations.
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Netia sells P4 stake to Novator, Tollerton (Poland)
Polish operator Netia has agreed to sell its 23.4 percent stake in mobile carrier P4 to Tollerton Investments and Novator for EUR 130 million cash. The price represents a 63 percent premium over the EUR 79.7 million in equity contributed by Netia to P4. Netia expects to complete the deal in the first quarter, meaning it will not participate in expected capital-raising at P4 later this year. Netia announced already in early January that it was considering the P4 stake sale. The cash received will be used to finance its own growth and avoid the need for an equity issue. With the acquisition of Netia’s stake, Novator and Tollerton have full control of P4.
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Garmin enters handset market with Nuvifone
Portable navigation device maker Garmin International has announced its entrance into the mobile phone market with the Nuvifone touchscreen device. The Nuvifone is a 3.5G mobile phone, featuring a 3.5-inch touch screen, web browser and personal GPS navigator similar to Garmin’s Nuvi product line. The handset also provides Google local search, and access to Garmin Online, an online service offering constantly-updating information. Other multimedia functions of the Nuvifone include a built-in video camera, MP3 and MPEG4/AAC. Garmin anticipates that the Nuvifone will be available in the third quarter of this year.
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