Belgacom reports sound first quarter results (Belgium)
The Belgacom Group reported for the first quarter 2012 $2.06 million of revenue, i.e. 0.3 percent up versus the same period of 2011. Excluding the impact from acquisitions, divestments and regulatory measures, Belgacom’s underlying revenue grew by 1 percent as a result of a revenue increase in the Consumer segment and BICS.
The first quarter 2012 Group EBITDA was $605.8 million, i.e. a 3.1 percent decline versus the previous year. Regulatory measures reduced the first quarter EBITDA by $7.8 million (-1.3 percent). The reported EBITDA led to an EBITDA margin of 29.3 percent. Belgacom invested $241.8 million in the first three months of 2012, or 11.7 percent of its Group revenue.
In the first quarter of 2012 Belgacom generated $232.7 million Free Cash Flow, or $78 million less versus the same period of 2011. This is due to lower Cash Flow from Operating Activities, the acquisition of the chain of The Phone House Belgium stores and by higher Capex investments.
Didier Bellens, Belgacom’s CEO, said that they are pleased to start the year with solid revenue, and EBITDA on track to meet their full-year guidance. Once again they were able to gain many new customers, growing their customer base for most products. Their strategy is proving to be correct: they leveraged their strengths and further elaborated on the convergence strategy that makes them unique in the Belgian market.
Today they are clearly benefitting from our approach of having invested early and continuously in a high-quality fixed and mobile network. Their focus on improving their servicing to customers is working, which helps Belgacom to be an even more attractive company in a competitive market. The absence of a fair, level playing field, however, still puts them in a disadvantageous position in relation to their cable competitors, a situation which they will continue to fight. Even so, thanks to their strategy and assets, Belgacom remains a resilient player in the market.
Belgium’s 4G spectrum auction valued at US$ 103.7 million (Belgium)
Belgian regulatory body BIPT (Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications) has reportedly said that it has sold 4G licences to four bidders at a value of US$ 103.7 million. According to reports, the 2,575-2,620 MHz frequency block (TDD spectrum) along with 6 frequency blocks in the 2,500-2,570 MHz and 2,620-2,690 MHz frequency bands (FDD spectrum) were put up for the auction.
As per sources, the operators who were successful in the 4G spectrum auction include Belgacom at US$ 26.9 million, BUCD BVBA at US$ 29.9 million, KPN Group Belgium at US$ 20.04 million and Mobistar at US$ 26.7 million. Mobile operator Craig Wireless Belgium also bid for the 4G licence spectrum but was not successful.
Vodafone Roaming Services teams up with BICS
BICS and Vodafone Roaming Services are pooling their resources to connect their two communities and achieve greater efficiencies.
BICS consists of Belgacom, Swisscom and South Africa’s MTN and it will initially use the partnership to manage their roaming traffic with Vodafone operators.
According to Daniel Kurgan, CEO of BICS, this cooperation is a major step for the mobile industry to guarantee seamless roaming for all mobile users when they cross national borders. It is a direct response to the expansion of the mobile environment globally in terms of subscribers, networks, technologies and applications.
Belgium plans for 3G and 4G licence auction
BIPT, Belgium’s telecoms regulator has summarized the timeline for a planned 3G and LTE licence auction.
In 2001 four licences were already put up for auction in the 2.1 GHz band (3G licences). Since then three operators have been granted a 3G licence in Belgium: Belgacom, Mobistar and KPN Group Belgium.
According to the, one or more new 3G licences will be auctioned to acquire the spectrum that corresponds to the 3G licence that was not granted in 2001. On this occasion, a new 3G operator can also acquire spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz band.
The regulator will call for applications from the 15th March, with the shortlist announced on the 16th May and the auction taking place on the 6th June 2011.
In a second stage, licences will also be auctioned for the first time in the 2.6 GHz band (4G licences). Currently no operator has a 4G licence in Belgium. The call for applications will go out on the 1st of June, with the shortlist being announced at the end of September. The LTE license auction is expected to take place around the middle of October 2011.
According to ALuc Hindryckx, Chairman of the BIPT Council, the rates of mobile Internet in Belgium rank among the highest in Europe. The entry of a fourth mobile operator will bring a new dynamism to the market, innovation will be stimulated and rates will be more accessible to consumers.
Belgacom to launch revamped internet packages (Belgium)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Belgian operator Belgacom will launch its revamped internet offerings on March 1, 2010. Internet Start with 2 GB is the entry-level package; Internet Comfort with 8 GB is the standard package and Internet Favorite with 75 GB will be the heavier usage package.
EUR 18.90 per month will be charged for Internet Start with speeds at 2 Mbps, EUR 32.50 for Internet Comfort with 12 Mbps speed. Internet Favorite and Internet Intense will provide 20 Mbps for EUR 42.90 and EUR 56 respectively. Larger mailbox volumes of 1 GB will benefit all packages.
Additional volume could be bought by customers exceeding their data limits. with Start and Comfort customers paying EUR 1 per extra 1 GB and Favorite clients EUR 5 per extra 20 GB. Both new and existing customers can avail the new offering.
50% reduction in MTRs proposed by Belgian regulator
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: To increase competition in the wireless sector and reduce the cost of calls to consumers, the mobile network operators of Belgium has been asked by the country’s telecoms regulator, the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications (BIPT) to halve mobile termination rates (MTRs). The operators have six weeks to respond to the regulator’s proposals.
50% cut in MTRs, far steeper than the 20% reduction has been recommended by the regulator. It is now widely expected that all three operators, Proximus (Belgacom Mobile), Mobistar and BASE, will appeal the decision.
Regulation of mobile interconnection rates had been proposed by BIPT in March 2006, and while the charges have been cut by around 50% since that date, the levels remain different for each of the three operators.
Vodafone to sell stake in Swisscom Mobile says reports
News reports have said that Vodafone are planning to sell its stake in Switzerland’s Swisscom Mobile, where Vodafone has had a 25% stake in the company since 2001.
This comes as no surprise when they have just sold their stake in Belgacom’s mobile unit Proximus and Vodafone are looking to reduce their debt.
Some reports value Swisscom Mobile stake at around 3.5 billion swiss francs (compared to the 4.5 billion swiss francs that Vodafone paid in 2001.
Source- http://www.union-network.org
Technorati : Mobile, Swisscom Mobile, Switzerland, Vodafone
Ice Rocket : Mobile, Swisscom Mobile, Switzerland, Vodafone
