Cingular

Cellcom Israel posts profitable growth in Q2′09

On 08.17.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Cellcom Israel Announces Second Quarter 2009 Results

15.0% Increase in Net Income With an Increase in Operating Income and EBITDA
Profitability Growth, Despite the Ongoing Economic Slowdown, Price Erosions and Growing Competition
EBITDA Up by 2.9%; EBITDA Margin of 39.6%
Cellcom Israel Declares a Second Quarter Dividend of NIS 3.05 per Share (Totals Approx. NIS 300 Million)
Total Revenues from services increased 0.7% to NIS 1,420 million ($362 million)
Revenues from content and value added services (including SMS) increased 30.6%, represent 14.7% of services revenues
Total Revenues totaled NIS 1,608 million ($410 million), a 0.5% increase
EBITDA increased 2.9%(3) to NIS 637 million ($163 million) EBITDA margin 39.6%
Operating income increased 6.5%(5) to NIS 444 million ($113 million)
Net income increased 15.0% to NIS 277 million ($71 million)
Free Cash Flow(2) increased 33.3% to NIS 400 million ($102 million)
Subscriber base increased approx. 20,000 during the quarter, mostly post-paid subscribers; reaching approx. 3.228 million at the end of June 2009
3G subscribers reached approx. 877,000 at the end of June 2009, net addition of approx. 44,000 in the second quarter 2009
The Company declared second quarter dividend of NIS 3.05 per share

Cellcom Israel Ltd. announced today its financial results for the second quarter of 2009. Revenues for the second quarter 2009 totaled NIS 1,608 million ($410 million); EBITDA for the second quarter 2009 totaled NIS 637 million ($163 million), or 39.6% of revenues; and net income for the second quarter 2009 reached NIS 277 million ($71 million). Basic earnings per share for the second quarter 2009 reached NIS 2.82 ($0.72).
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Spain ends June with 51.68Mn mobile lines

On 08.13.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Spain has lost 54,141 mobile lines in the month of June, taking the total number to 51.68 million, up 4.2% since June’08, reports telecoms regulator, CMT. The drop in lines has been driven by an adjustment of nearly 161,000 lines made by Orange in the prepaid segment. Over the last three months, MVNOs won 50.60% of the total new additions, Vodafone covered 28.70%, Yoigo accounted for 19.41% and Movistar for 7.18%, while Orange lost 5.89% in the period. Mobile penetration reached 112 lines per 100 inhabitants, versus 107.4 in June’08.
384,838 mobile phone numbers were ported in June, up by 19.3% versus the same period last year. Yoigo and the MVNOs saw a positive balance in portability, while Movistar, Vodafone and Orange registered a negative balance. Yoigo won 23,671 users and the MVNOs added 15,023 ported customers.

Tagged with: BTRC • Cingular • Deutsche Telekom • DG-628 • Free Airtime • HTC • Middle East Broadcasting Corporation • Monstermob • MP4 Player • Nokia • Sotelgui • UBA

Axiata enters into collaboration agreement with Friendi Group

On 08.06.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Dubai-based Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Friendi Group FZ-LLC (Friendi), with the intention of collaborating to address expatriates working in the markets Axiata and Friendi operate in.

Amongst the areas of collaboration to be explored is the possibility of setting up co-branding and MVNO relationships between the two Groups. The terms of the Collaboration Agreement will also look at the provision of content and services to this group of people working in the Middle East as well as to their families. (more…)

Tagged with: Cingular • mobile money • Mobile Synchronization • Wind Mobile • WorkForce

France ends Q2′09 with 58.91Mn subscribers

On 08.06.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The French mobile operators have added 678,600 new subscribers in Q2′09 to end June with 58.91 million subscribers, reports the French telecom regulator Arcep. While the overall mobile market grew by 1.2% in Q2, the postpaid subscriber base grew by 1.8% to 40.51 million and prepaid subscribers fell by 0.3% to 18.4 million. MVNOs, at the end of June, had a 5.3% market share by subscribers, up from 5.17% at the end of March and 4.67% at the end of June 2008. During the Q2, SMS traffic grew by 7.2% to 14.66 billion messages, or 85.9 per month per active subscriber, compared to 13.68 billion or 80.6 monthly messages per customer in Q1.

Tagged with: Bank of Ayudhya • BT Movio • Cingular • Drei • Free Airtime • Mobile Statistics • US ITC • Vertu Phones • Wataniya Palestine

French Govt launches tender for fourth 3G licence

On 08.03.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The French government has launched tender for the 4th 3G mobile licence in the country, as it publishes the procedure’s details in the Official Journal on 01 August. The candidates who wish to bid for the licence can do so until 29 September by submitting their proposals. The contenders reportedly are ISP Free, Numericable and MVNO Virgin Mobile France (joint bid).
Arcep, the French regulator, has until the end of May 2010 to decide on proposals based on nine criteria, including the credibility of the business plan, coverage commitments and access to the network by MVNOs.

Tagged with: BT Movio • Cingular • Communication Providers • Free Airtime • GSM • MTIT • Otecel • ST Telemedia • Strategy • STT • TD-SCDMA phones • Turner

Qwest reports net income of USD212 Mn in June’09 (USA)

On 08.02.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Qwest Communications has posted net income of USD212 million in the three months ended 30 June 2009, a 17.8% year-on-year rise, up from USD180 million in 2Q08. The revenues dropped from USD3.38 billion in 2008 to USD3.09 billion a year later. In this quarter, operating expenses fell by USD219 million, or 8%, in comparison to the second quarter of 2008, ending June 2009 with USD2.59 billion. The decline is attributed to a 19% decrease in sales costs due to reduced facility costs and a decline in wireless MVNO-related expenses.

In the broadband segment, the company reports a 7% year-on-year rise in subscribers. The firm ended June with a subscriber base of 2.92 million.

Tagged with: Charges • Cingular • Electronic Recharge • Pakistana • PC-to-mobile messages • SIM-only

Lycamobile is home to 1Mn subscribers (UK)

On 07.27.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Lycamobile, mobile virtual network of UK, has signed up more than one million subscribers since its launch in September 2008. Milind Kangle, Lycamobile’s CEO, said, ‘Through continued focus on providing customers with an unbeatable product proposition we have continuously built up subscriber numbers in specific consumer segments. We are committed to making substantial investments in people, process and technology to broaden the range of services to Lycamobile’s global ethnic customer base of over four million subscribers.’

Tagged with: Charges • Cingular • Verizon Wireless • Wireless unit

Vodafone ceases network partnership with ExtremeMob (UK)

On 07.27.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vodafone has ended its network partnership with the MVNO, ExtremeMob and now the MVNO looks for a new partner. ExtremeMob had won a Vodafone licence in 2005 and since then the official launch for the services is being delayed, hampering the launch of Advantage Cellular as well. Extreme’s launch also suffered another setback because an overhaul of the MVNO’s content offering.
Ian Pond, managing director of ExtremeMob UK, said that ‘given the recurring delays’ he was reluctant to say when the MVNO would launch.
Pond said: ‘It’s not looking like summer this year. It’s at a difficult point at the moment. It’s a lengthy process, and it’s taking longer than we had hoped.’
He added that tying up a deal with another network was ‘one of the things that ExtremeMob need to work on’.
Though Pond suggests that the possibility of MVNO launch in Poland will be before the UK.

Tagged with: Chief Commercial Officer • Cingular • Free Airtime • Global Economic Recession • Mobile Payment Service • Nokia • Omer Rashid • Poland • strategic partnership agreement • Verizon Wireless

Orange & Blyk ink partnership deal (UK)

On 07.24.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: According to a media report, Blyk is to transfer its users and technology over to Orange after the two companies signed a partnership deal. Blyk offers subscribers free mobile phone usage as long as they are happy to put up with advertising on their handsets. Earlier this year, the company slashed its free minutes, texts, picture messages and data, further report said that it is now dropping its whole business model in favour of the partnership.

Orange, in turn, will start offering some kind of ad-funded service to users, the report says, “as it pushes to become a media business rather than just an operator”.

Tagged with: Cingular • Deutsche Telekom • Econet • Gamasutra • Internet Access • monthly charges

Blyk & Vodafone Netherlands ink a partnership deal

On 07.23.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Blyk, a leading MVNO operational in UK, has inked a partnership deal with Vodafone’s Dutch operation in order to expand its international operations. Blyk had reportedly attracted 200,000 users by 31 December 2008. However, after announcing it had raised USD51 million for its international expansion last November, in February this year the company announced it was switching away from an MVNO model and opting instead to work in partnership with existing mobile operators.

Blyk was in talks with Vodafone Netherlands about running its own MVNO, akin to its UK service. Vodafone will provide the mobile infrastructure, while Blyk provides technology and advertising sales for an own-branded service, sharing revenues with the operator, according to a report.

Tagged with: Charges • Cingular • SBI Capital Markets