Everything Everywhere sales, profit falls
Everything Everywhere Ltd., the U.K.’s biggest mobile operator,a joint venture of France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom AG, revealed its second-quarter sales and operating profit fell as regulators cut the fees it charges rival carriers.
The company’s customer base rose 3.4% to 27.9 million in the second quarter, strengthening its position as Britain’s largest mobile operator ahead of Telefonica’s O2, Vodafone, and Hutchison Whampoa’s Three UK.
According to Chief executive Tom Alexander, the company is well on the way, confirming the company’s synergy target of at least US$5.5 billion and ambition for double-digit cash-flow growth from 2010-14.
Everything Everywhere’s second-quarter revenue was US$2.715 billion. EBITDA cut down 18% to US$481.595 million.
According to the company, both sales and EBITDA had been hurt by lower regulatory caps on mobile termination rates, the charges operators pay for call traffic across each other’s networks and the impact on its revenue was US$159.47 million.
Average monthly churn — the rate at which customers leave fell to 2.2% from 2.5%. ARPU cut down 7.7%.
Wal-Mart introduces postpaid plans with T-Mobile
Wal-Mart Stores , an American public corporation running a chain of large discount department stores and a chain of warehouse stores will launch a family post-paid cell phone plan with T-Mobile USA.
Unlimited calling and texting will cost US$45 per month for the first line and US$25 for each additional line for the family. The service will be offered starting next week in most of its stores across the nation.
The companies look like targeting customers who aren’t willing to pay for marquee devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone or Verizon Wireless’ Droid lineup.
According to T-Mobile Chief Operations Officer Jim Alling, the new service offers customers a low-cost alternative for unlimited voice, messaging, web and inexpensive international calling.
Wal-Mart’s family mobile plan includes offerings from Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Inc. and Nokia. T-Mobile USA is a subsidiary of German phone company Deutsche Telekom AG.
7-inch Apple iPad soon to appear: Analyst
Apple is planning to set up an iPad with a 7- inch screen which is said to be launched early next year . The device is expected to have FaceTime support, a flagship feature used by Apple to market the fourth 4G iPhone and iPod touch.
According to an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw LLC, Apple Inc. may be readying a version of its iPad tablet computer with a 7-inch screen to fend off a threat from competing smaller-sized devices.
As per the reports by Rodman analyst Ashok Kumar, the product may be ready as soon as the first quarter of 2011. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.
If this is true than Apple may have plans to launch the smaller iPad to compete with Samsung Electronics Co., maker of the Galaxy Tab. The iPad will run on Google Inc.’s Android operating system and will be offered by the four biggest U.S. wireless carriers: AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Tab will have a 7-inch display and video-conferencing features via Wi-Fi networks.
According to Kumar, Apple will be playing catch-up on the videoconferencing features. Apple’s latest iPhone and iPod Touch support a Wi-Fi videoconferencing feature called FaceTime, which Apple would extend to the new iPad.
After representing the product in January this year, Apple started selling the iPad in the U.S. in April. By the end of the quarter, Apple had traded 3.3 million iPads in around 10 countries. Apple also started selling the iPad in China last Friday.
Apple is setting up an iPad with a 7- inch screen which is said to be launched early next year. The device is expected to have FaceTime support, a flagship feature used by Apple to market the fourth 4G iPhone and iPod touch.
According to an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw LLC, Apple Inc. may be readying a version of its iPad tablet computer with a 7-inch screen to fend off a threat from competing smaller-sized devices.
As per the reports by Rodman analyst Ashok Kumar, the product may be ready as soon as the first quarter of 2011. The current iPad has a 9.7-inch screen.
If this is true than Apple may have plans to launch the smaller iPad to compete with Samsung Electronics Co., maker of the Galaxy Tab. The iPad will run on Google Inc.’s Android operating system and will be offered by the four biggest U.S. wireless carriers: AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Tab will have a 7-inch display and video-conferencing features via Wi-Fi networks.
According to Kumar, Apple will be playing catch-up on the videoconferencing features. Apple’s latest iPhone and iPod Touch support a Wi-Fi videoconferencing feature called FaceTime, which Apple would extend to the new iPad.
After representing the product in January this year, Apple started selling the iPad in the U.S. in April. By the end of the quarter, Apple had traded 3.3 million iPads in around 10 countries. Apple also started selling the iPad in China last Friday.
Apple’s share rose 1.9% to $280.51 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares mounted 31% this year.
T-Mobile USA loses subscribers in Q1
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The first quarterly loss of subscribers has been posted by T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier. While the company had a net gain of 415,000 customers in the year-ago quarter, it had a net loss 77,000 customers this quarter.
Since, nearly every adult in the U.S. now has a cell phone, the other two large carriers, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc posted a smallest quarterly subscriber increases in many years. Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG owned T- Mobile had 33.7 million customers at the end of the quarter, up from 33.2 million customers a year earlier.
According to T- Mobile, 118,000 contract customers — more valuable to wireless services than prepaid customers — departed during the quarter and in the same period, a net 41,000 prepaid customers started using its services. Even though traditional “postpaid” services stuttered, prepaid wireless service market continued to be popular during the first quarter.
Due to a decline in contract revenue, which fell 3 percent to $4.11 billion, 2 percent drop in the revenue has been posted by the telco in the first three months of the year to $5.28 billion. The company’s profit rose despite the drop in revenue and helped by lower operating expenses. Company’s net income was $362 million, up from $322 million last year.
Hutchison’s 3 drops objection to Orange, T-Mobile merger (UK)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After receiving assurances of continuing to have access to cellular networks, one objection has been dropped by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.’s 3 mobile- phone unit to the merger of Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA’s U.K operations.
The number of mobile-phone towers will be increased as a result of the agreement which can be used by 3, the U.K.’s smallest mobile-phone operator. France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom can also win regulatory approval to combine their Orange and T-Mobile units with the help of this agreement, thus creating the U.K.’s biggest mobile operator.
Failure to secure continued access to T-Mobile networks would also mean that 3 would have a much tougher time†competing in the U.K. market.
T-Mobile, Orange to offer a part of spectrum for sale in UK
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A part of the combined radio spectrum has been offered to be sold by Deutsche Telekom AG and France T©l©com SA besides providing some network-sharing guarantees to allay competition concerns over their U.K. mobile joint venture.
Instead of facing a lengthy antitrust probe by U.K. regulators, the companies consider European Commission’s antitrust clearance a preferred option.
The key players in the U.K. mobile sector have been asked by the commission to see whether the proposals reduce rivals’ concerns over their impact on competition.
T-Mobile and Orange in U.K merger to be reviewed by European Commission
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A proposal has been filed by Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom to the European commission for a joint venture in the U.K. The step is taken four months after the announcement of the deal.
The deal for 50- 50 partnership between France Telecom’s Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile was announced on September 8. With 37% market share, the joint venture will create the U.K.’s largest mobile operator ahead of current leaders Telefonica SA’s O2 with its 27% share and Vodafone PLC’s 25%.
The European Commission has time until February 15 to complete the investigation of the adverse effect of the deal on the market. The joint venture may start working by the middle of 2010.
Deutsche Telekom AG asked to grant rivals access to broadband network
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: German network regulator Bundesnetzagentur, has asked Deutsche Telekom AG to grant rivals like Vodafone PLC, access to broadband network. Through the decision, the regulator wants to ensure that
Deutsche Telekom’s competitors can offer its customers the same bandwidth.
Though Vodafone or Telefonica SA, have their own broadband infrastructure, the last mile which is a copper line and not a fibre one, extending from street cabinets to the home is critical.
According to the order, in case there is a lack of free space in the street cabinets, Deutsche Telekom will have to provide access to empty pipes or dark fiber to its competitors.
While the Deutsche Telekom raised concerns about the decision, it has been welcomed by VATM, the association of Deutsche Telekom’s competitors in Germany.
Deutsche Telekom likely to sell T-Mobile U.K. Unit-report
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Deutsche Telekom AG is in talks with Vodafone Group Plc, France Telecom SA and Telefonica SA about selling its T-Mobile U.K. unit, media reports. All three companies have expressed their interest in the unit however talks are still at a preliminary stage,the report said.
As per the report, a merger between T-Mobile U.K. and France Telecom’s Orange U.K. unit is being mulled.
Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile bids 1.18 bln usd in 17th round us wireless auction
LONDON (AFX) – Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile bid 1.18 bln usd for 23 licenses in the 17th round of the US wireless auction, taking its total provisional bids to 58 licenses for 3.75 bln usd.Cingular AWS, owned by AT&T Inc and BellSouth Corp, bid 139.3 mln usd for 34 licences in the latest round, taking its total provisional bids to 37 licences for 632.9 mln usd.The US Federal Communications Commission started the auction last week and it will run until no more bids are submitted, a process that could take several weeks.The auction covers portions of radio spectrum which companies use to transmit sound, data or images wirelessly.
T-Mobile is expected to be a major bidder as it needs further spectrum in order to compete with its three bigger wireless rivals.
Source- London Stock Exchange
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