Orange launches several initiatives for cost-effective roaming experience (France, Spain)
Mobile operator Orange has announced a series of new roaming initiatives aimed at delivering a simpler, more transparent and cost-effective roaming experience for customers. The initiatives include a new combined voice, SMS and mobile data roaming offer, a new roaming app and a roaming cap and text alert when roaming outside the EU. These initiatives are underpinned by a new Orange Travel ‘Customer Experience Charter’, laying down its commitment to customers to deliver transparency, responsive customer support and reliable networks when roaming. The initiatives will cover Orange’s key European markets and will be implemented throughout 2012.
Orange’s latest ‘combined’ roaming bundle sees a new type of offer in the market, incorporating voice, SMS and data into one affordable and easy to understand tariff. The offers will be available on a daily, weekly or even 30-day basis, tailored to each market. The offers, available in Spain, Belgium and Romania will be extended to other markets in 2012 including France, the UK and Poland. For example, in France customers will be able to purchase a bundle that includes 10 minutes of voice, 10 SMS’s and 10 MB for approximately US$ 5 to US$ 7 daily, from June onwards.
The launch of a new roaming app, the Orange Travel App, will help customers track their data usage when travelling abroad more easily than ever before. Downloadable from the Orange App shop or Android Market, customers will be able to easily monitor, in real-time, their data and SMS roaming traffic. Customers will be able to check how many megabytes and SMS’s they have sent and received in total, per country and per trip. Customers can then compare this, seamlessly, within the app, to their local tariff plans to ensure that they are within their limits. The app, already well-received in France with over 15,000 downloads since June, will be extended to a further six of Orange’s European markets in 2012, including the UK, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Romania and Slovakia.
Orange is also introducing a ‘rest of world’ alert and cap for data usage to protect customers from receiving unexpected bills when travelling outside of the EU. The level of the alert and cap will be set for each market. As customers approach their limit, they will be sent an alert by SMS. Customers can then choose via SMS to purchase an additional bundle or be cut off when they hit their limit. The ‘rest of world’ alert and cap will be available across eight of Orange’s European markets eventually. It is available in Poland, Belgium and France today, and will be introduced in the UK, Spain, Romania and Slovakia in 2012.
Vincent Brunet, Executive Vice President, Consumer Mobile Services, commented that the launch of today’s initiatives are testimony to their continued commitment to deliver a great roaming experience that is open to all. With more and more customers choosing smartphones and tablets, they are cognisant of both the opportunities and risks that such devices deliver in a roaming context. By putting in further safety nets, they are helping customers to manage their consumption while they continue to introduce competitive offers that respond to their customers’ growing needs. Further, they are confident that customers can roam freely without concern to reap all the benefits that the smartphone and tablet revolution provides.
The Orange Travel ‘Customer Experience Charter’ will serve as a set of guiding principles that each of Orange’s European markets will use in the execution of their roaming services, whether that be the delivery of a new roaming tariff or a communication campaign. The principles extend to ensuring transparency at all times, as well as delivering responsive customer support and guaranteeing reliable networks when roaming.
The new initiatives are part of the Orange Travel portfolio of roaming services, providing a broad range of attractive roaming offers to respond to the varying needs of customers from consumer customers to big business. Orange’s segmented approach ensures that customers get the best solution for their needs. Orange has over 25 million Orange Travel customers at the end of 2011, adding over one million new customers in 2011.
Millicom partners with Western Union for Cross-Border Mobile Money Transfer Services (Latin America)
Western Union, a leader in global payment services, and Millicom International Cellular, a leading mobile operator in 13 markets across Latin America and Africa operating under the Tigo brand, have signed an agreement to introduce cross-border mobile money transfers in Latin America, as per an announcement at the Mobile World Congress 2012.
The first cross-border money transfer service under this agreement will be launched soon in Paraguay under the Giros Tigo brand (Tigo Cash). Millicom will then be able to offer its customers in Paraguay the ability to receive money across borders using their mobile phones.
The service will be rolled out over time in other markets in Latin America. This agreement will allow millions of Tigo customers to benefit from Western Union’s extensive network of more than 450,000 agent locations across 200 countries and territories, whilst Western Union will deepen its distribution reach in the markets in which Millicom operates.
Diane Scott, chief marketing officer and president, Western Union Ventures, has said that they’re excited to join forces with Millicom, their first mobile money partner in Latin America. As a leader in moving money around the world via a variety of channels — retail and electronic — it’s important that they continue to evolve and expand their services so they are even more convenient to use and accessible to as many people as possible. Further, they’re uniquely positioned to do this with their network of more than 450,000 agent locations, long-standing experience in moving money, and agreements with leading telecommunications groups like Millicom.
Marcelo Cataldo, Head of Mobile Financial Services, Millicom Latin America, has said that they are pleased to be the first in Latin America to be launching a cross-border money transfer service in partnership with Western Union. Also, they continuously strive to offer their customers useful and affordable services, from communication to entertainment and mobile financial services.
In Paraguay, they have been offering mobile financial services for over 18 months and, in the last quarter of 2011, around 20 per cent of their customers used these facilities. With the addition of cross-border mobile money transfer services which they will soon provide in conjunction with Western Union, they aim to bring additional benefits to a growing number of their customers in Latin America.
Specific services under this agreement will vary by country, but over time, Tigo customers in most of Millicom’s Latin American markets will be able to receive money from Western Union customers directly into their mobile accounts. They will also be able to cash out transactions at any Tigo location offering the Giros Tigo facility.
Western Union offers its Mobile Money Transfer service in Bangladesh, Canada, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Tanzania and the U.S.
Millicom offers Mobile Financial Services and in particular in-market money transfers in Paraguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Tanzania, Ghana and Rwanda and will extend its offering to more services and into more markets over time.
Nokia introduces new smartphones at MWC 2012 (Spain, Finland)
Handset maker Nokia introduced a range of new products, services and partnerships at Mobile World Congress, setting the pace for 2012 and demonstrating rapid execution of its new strategic direction. As per the company, the new strategy already has resulted in the adoption of Windows Phone as Nokia’s primary smartphone platform, major changes to its feature phones, and additional emphasis on location-based services with the launch of its Location & Commerce business.
Stephen Elop, president and CEO, Nokia has said that one year ago, Nokia was embarking on a new journey to build great mobile devices. Today, with their fourth Lumia device, smarter mobile phones and an array of new services, they are demonstrating that they can change the clock speed of Nokia.
Nokia has extended the range of products with Windows Phone by introducing the Nokia Lumia 610, the most affordable Lumia yet, as well as targeting availability of the widely acclaimed Lumia 900 to additional markets beyond the U.S.
Aimed at young people who want an affordable introduction to Lumia and Windows Phone, the Nokia Lumia 610 provides easy access to social networks, web browsing, music, games, navigation and tens of thousands of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It comes in four vibrant colors and is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.
The Nokia Lumia 900, which launched in January as Nokia’s first LTE-enabled smartphone, will now be available in Dual Carrier HSPA for up 42.2 Mbps. The superior content experience of the phone’s 4.3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display and large capacity battery will be available to more countries around the world.
Nokia announced Nokia Reading providing a single, integrated reading hub experience. Nokia Reading makes it easier and faster to enjoy news, books, and audio books including an extensive catalogue of local language reading material and the ability to access content offline.
Nokia also ushered in a new era in high end smartphone imaging. The Nokia 808 PureView is the first smartphone to feature exclusive Nokia PureView imaging technologies that will enable a range of high-end imaging experiences into Nokia products over the coming years. The Nokia 808 PureView combines a large, high-resolution 41-megapixel sensor, Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia-developed pixel over-sampling technology. This means incredibly sharp, detailed images, superior low light performance and the capability to save images in compact file sizes for sharing in email, MMS and on social networks.
The Nokia 808 PureView also includes Nokia Rich Recording for CD-like quality audio recording, full HD 1080p video recording and playback, and exclusive Dolby Headphone technology to transform any stereo content into a personal surround sound experience over any headphones.
Nokia is further blurring the line between feature phones and smartphones, launching three new Asha devices for people who want to work, learn and play. Developed for urban consumers and entrepreneurs, the Nokia Asha 302 is a premium QWERTY device. It delivers a mobile office experience with push email and calendar, and contacts synchronization under the Mail for Exchange support – a first for Nokia Series 40 devices.
Designed for easy access to social networks, the Nokia Asha 202 and 203 bring touchscreens to volume-priced products and a pack of 40 free Electronic Arts games. The Asha 202 also features Nokia’s Easy Swap Dual SIM technology, allowing people to simply swap between tariffs and get the best value from carriers.
Nokia is also differentiating itself by updating its popular Life Tools service, now called Nokia Life, that provides life-enhancing information across the range of Nokia Series 30 and Series 40 products, including the new Asha 202 and Asha 203. People in India, China, Indonesia and Nigeria will benefit from life skills, parenting, education, agriculture and entertainment services, delivered via SMS.
The new Asha devices complement the Nokia Asha range that is available now in more than 100 markets globally.
Vodafone partners with Visa for Mobile Payment service (UK)
Vodafone and Visa have announced a worldwide partnership to enable consumers to pay for goods and services using their mobile phones instead of coins and banknotes.
According to a report by the company, the companies will work together to develop a Vodafone-branded proposition that will be offered to consumers across Vodafone’s 398 million customer base in more than 30 countries across five continents, enabled by Visa’s outstanding payment network, product suite and brand. The partnership, the largest of its kind between a global payment network and mobile operator, combines the companies’ global reach and expertise to bring Visa payment functionality to consumers around the world.
The new Vodafone mobile payment proposition announced with Visa will be based on the Visa prepaid account and offered to consumers in partnership with Visa Issuers. The service will initially be launched in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and the UK, starting in the coming financial year. Other countries within Vodafone’s global portfolio will follow.
In addition to the Vodafone-branded stored value account inside the mobile wallet, Vodafone and Visa will work together to enable Visa Issuers for mobile payments globally. The platform will be open to all partners of all relevant industries, including financial institutions, retailers, transport and utility companies to host their services within an innovative new Vodafone mobile wallet.
Vittorio Colao, Group Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone, said that the Vodafone mobile wallet represents the next stage of the smartphone revolution. It offers customers the speed, simplicity and convenience of managing their everyday transactions with a single wave or tap of their smartphone, using innovative and reliable services developed by Vodafone and Visa – technology and providers they can trust. Further, the mobile wallet will be open to any service provider and they are committed to enable all partners to provide their joint customers the richest service portfolio possible.
In developed countries across Europe, North America and Australia, with a mature infrastructure for electronic payments, users of the Vodafone stored value account will be able to make purchases at the-point-of sale using Near Field Communications (NFC) enabled smartphones equipped with Visa payWave for mobile, Visa’s fast and secure mobile payment technology. By simply waving their smartphone in front of a payment terminal, consumers will be able to make simple, every day purchases such as bus and train tickets, newspapers, magazines or a morning coffee. Consumers will also be able to make high value purchases securely using a passcode.
Peter Ayliffe, CEO, Visa Europe, said that their partnershipwith Vodafone represents a huge stride forward for mobile payments. Visa’s future of payments initiative is more than just a promise, these services are real, tangible and coming to the mainstream consumer market in the very near future. Any Visa Issuer across these key markets will be able to work with Visa and Vodafoneto enable mobile payments for their customers, backed by all the security, trust and global acceptance the Visa brand represents.
John Partridge, President, Visa Inc ., claims that the convergence of global payment networks, such as VisaNet, with leading mobile telecommunication networks, such as Vodafone, has the potential to transform the way people pay and get paid the world over. Visa’s relationship with Vodafone will assist financial institutions in both developed and developing countries to offer Visa-quality payments to new and existing account holders.
Telefonica and Mozilla partner to launch HTML5 device (Spain)
Telefónica Digital and Mozilla today unveiled an ambitious strategy to create a new mobile platform that will deliver the first HTML5 based devices running on the open Web. The Open Web Devices platform (OWD), which will launch in 2012, is an important step forward in the establishment of HTML5 as the next major ecosystem for smartphones, and will enable the delivery of smartphone capabilities at low price points.
As per the company report, Telefónica Digital’s product development and innovation team has worked closely together with Mozilla, the pioneers of open Web standards, to create a new phone architecture that relies entirely on the Web, enabling HTML 5 applications with absolute access to core phone APIs. This means that all of the device’s capabilities (calling, messaging, browsing, games etc) can be developed as HTML5 applications and executed via an experience based on the Firefox Web browser.
Despite the significant gains in performance for Web Technologies on mobile devices, HTML and JavaScript-based applications have had limited access to the device’s underlying capabilities. This platform will lead the evolution of the HTML5 set of standards to add new software APIs that are as broad and functionally rich as their native counterparts.
Mozilla’s Boot to Gecko Project unlocks the current limitations of Web development for mobile by providing new features and APIs that will demonstrate just how powerful HTML5 can be and that it is possible to run an entire device using this technology. In doing so it is possible to remove much of the middleware and other superfluous software on a device which not only makes the applications run faster, but also brings down the device unit cost.
Because of this initiative’s commitment to openness, this reference implementation will be submitted for standardization to W3C. The objective is that there are no proprietary APIs within the device architecture, making phones developed using it the only truly open devices on the market.
As per the report, Telefónica and Mozilla are developing this HTML5 operating system on a hardware platform that is based upon a Qualcomm chipset. The three companies will be collaborating to deliver a feature rich prototype platform that will enable smartphone capabilities at feature phone entry level pricing.
An operating system based on HTML5 offers significant opportunities for application developers, content owners and service providers, both in terms of enabling new capabilities, as well as making it easier to develop, deploy and maintain their applications.
Carlos Domingo, Director of Product Development & Innovation, Telefónica Digital, claims that Telefónica’s objective is to drive HTML5 adoption across the industry. For the first time the capabilities of HTML5 and the open Web have been fully leveraged to create an entirely new mobile platform.
MTN Group increases MTN Mobile Money presence in Zambia (Africa)
The MTN Group announced last week that its increasingly popular MTN Mobile Money service will now be available through the extensive MTN agent network and Banc ABC branch network in Zambia, further improving accessibility to financial services via the convenience of mobile telephony for thousands of Zambians.
According to a company report, in terms of the strategic partnership with Banc ABC, MTN customers will be able to load and withdraw money from their mobile phones using MTN Service Centres, MTN agents, Connect Stores and the Banc ABC branch network.
Christian de Faria, Group Commercial Officer, MTN Group, has said that the phenomenal uptake of Mobile Money in Zambia is a clear indication that an increasing number of Zambians are excited to finally have the ability to conduct financial transactions through their mobile phones.
MTN Mobile Money creates a safe environment for the banked and unbanked portion of the population to perform basic banking transactions. In some of the markets where the service is offered, customers are now able to pay their utility bills, among other transactions, using MTN Mobile Money. MTN has successfully deployed its MTN Mobile Money service in 11 other markets, including Uganda, Swaziland, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Rwanda.
De Faria adds that the launch of MTN Mobile Money in Zambia is opening up plenty of exciting opportunities in terms of financial services inclusivity. For them, MTN Mobile Money is integral to their efforts to increase accessibility to financial services for people in their markets.
He added that the agreement with Banc ABC also confirms our commitment to continue exploring innovative ways to make our products as accessible as possible within the Zambian market.
The launch of the MTN Mobile Money service with Banc ABC will enable MTN subscribers to open a mobile money account at any of the bank’s 19 branches and 10 mobile banks across Zambia. Subscribers will, upon registration, be able to load and store electronic money on their mobile phones and use their mobile number as an account number.
says Abdul Ismail, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Zambia has said that the unique feature of MTN Mobile Money is that customers can send money to any cellphone user on MTN or other networks. This joint partnership with Banc ABC as an MTN Mobile Money agent will assist greatly in agent liquidity and providing cash-in and cash-out services for their customers.
MTN Mobile Money is currently being utilised by over 6 million customers across the MTN footprint, with over 2 million of those users in Uganda.
Batelco offers free Mobile Data for SimSim customers (Bahrain)
Batelco, the Kingdom’s leading mobile services provider has announced a special deal for SimSim customers allowing them to receive 200MB of free mobile data usage when they refill with US$ 10.6 SimSim Voucher.
The free 200 MB will provide a great additional benefit for SimSim customers by giving them the opportunity to browse the Internet, download their favorite music, games and applications for free and hence save more money. The 200MB will be added directly to the customer account after the refill as a bonus on top of the main refilled amount and data bonus will remain valid for 30 days from the refill date.
This bonus is for data usage only and cannot be used for BlackBerry service or by Prepaid O-net subscribers.
Batelco General Manager Media Relations, Ahmed Al Janahi said that Batelco continuously reviews its special deals for SimSim customers in order to meet their varied telecom needs.
He added that by adding free 200MB of Mobile Data usage on top of US$ 10.6 SimSim vouchers refills, they are delivering top value to customers for their money. Further, they place the needs of their customers as a key priority and listen to their feedback in order to deliver products and services that improve their communication facilities.
Claro Brazil partners with NetCracker to improve network efficiency (Brazil)
NetCracker Technology has announced that Claro Brazil has selected NetCracker’s Telecom Operations and Management solution to streamline operations and improve end-to-end visibility of its network. Part of the Mexican telecom group América Móvil, Claro Brazil is the second largest mobile operator in Brazil with close to 59 million subscribers.
According to company reports, Claro Brazil will utilize the NetCracker solution to achieve three key objectives; which include, improving efficiencies through the creation of a unified and centralized view of the transport network, rapidly introducing new services and improve service quality and service delivery by ensuring greater visibility and control of all its transport network assets and enabling faster adoption of new technologies as the company seeks an expanded network footprint.
NetCracker will also be providing Claro Brazil with a full suite of professional services capabilities to ensure successful implementation of the solution.
Andrew Feinberg, President and CEO, NetCracker, has said that they are pleased to be working with Claro Brazil, one of the most innovative and visionary operators in Latin America. Further, NetCracker is looking forward to working closely with Claro Brazil and to delivering a standards-based solution that achieves their network, technology, and business goals.
Uninor subscriber base crosses 38 million (India)
Telecom operator Uninor has reported subscriber additions amounting to 2.49 million in January this year, reaching a total customer base of 38.79 million.
This brings great news to telecom operator Uninor, a joint venture between Telenor Norway and Unitech, whose 22 licenses were cancelled by the Indian Supreme Court earlier this month, claiming that the licences were obtained by illegal means.
As per a company statement, Uninor has claimed that in their 13 commercial circles in 2011, the highest number of subscribers chose Uninor. Further, they are satisfied to see that this strong preference continues into 2012 as well.
The operator added that it is their intention to continue competing as a mass market mobile service and ensure that the Indian mobile users continue to benefit from this competition.
Telenor had recently announced that it plans to form a new joint venture with another Indian entity in an attempt to continue its operations in the country.
