UK’s mobile wallet project under Commission review (UK)
The mobile payment platform to be jointly owned by UK’s mobile operators Vodafone, Telefónica UK, and Everything Everywhere, has come under the scanner of the European Commission. The joint venture titled ‘Project Oscar’ enables mobile users to pay for goods and services via their mobile phones.
According to reports, the commission has cited problems regarding the future for competition in UK’s wireless industry as the prime reason for the review. As per a statement made by the commission, the initial review has highlighted potential competition concerns as the joint venture would provide the companies with very high market shares.
As per reports, commission vice-president and competition chief Joaquín Almunia, said that the commission is in favour of any initiative that will develop the promising mobile commerce sector in Europe and bring new and innovative payment and interactive advertising experience to customers. At the same time, they need to make sure that competing services can keep emerging on this market, so that incentives to innovate remain and customers get the best mobile commerce services at the best cost.
The commission added that the joint venture and its three parent companies may have the technical and commercial ability to block future competitors from offering their own mobile wallet services to customers in the UK, or to degrade the quality of these competing wallets so that they become less attractive.
The three mobile operators participating in the mobile wallet service said that during the course of discussions with the commission it has become apparent that the embryonic nature of the mobile payments market in particular means that more time is needed to fully consider the proposed joint venture’s plans for a mobile wallet and engage with the views of other interested parties. They remain confident that an extended review will conclude that the proposed joint venture is pro-competitive and will provide robust competition to global players.
EU plans to cancel roaming charges (Europe)
Mobile users tend to switch of their mobile phones while travelling abroad owing to the high roaming charges. Keeping this in mind, the European Commission will be introducing new rules causing mobile operators to reduce their roaming rates.
As per reports, the new policy will require consumers to pay a maximum of $ 0.38 per minute for a call and a charge of $ 0.9 for every MB of data downloaded across Europe.
Reports reveal that Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that consumers are fed up with being ripped off. Kroes added that the new roaming deal gives a long-term structural solution with lower prices, more choice and a new smart approach for data and internet browsing.
The new rules will be effective from July.
Everything Everywhere may launch 4G services in 2012 (UK)
Mobile operator Everything Everywhere has reportedly applied to the regulator Ofcom, seeking permission to provide the new generation 4G LTE service on its existing spectrum. The regulator claims that the operator may be able to launch the new service by this year itself, enabling users to stream and download high definition videos without interruption.
In a statement, the regulator has said that allowing Everything Everywhere to re-use its spectrum in this way is likely to bring material benefits to consumers, including faster mobile broadband speeds and — depending on how Everything Everywhere uses the spectrum — potentially wider mobile broadband coverage in rural areas.
Further, Ofcom has considered whether allowing Everything Everywhere to use this spectrum in this way would distort competition, and provisionally concluded that it would not. The statement also said that given the benefits this would bring to consumers, Ofcom is minded to allow this change of use.
The regulator had initially said that 4G services would be launched in 2013-14.
A spokeswoman for Everything Everywhere said that it’s very important that the UK does not get left behind in the building of a new infrastructure for the digital economy. She added that they welcome the notice of 1800MHz licence variation from Ofcom, as it suggests Ofcom’s willingness to encourage the early deployment of 4G LTE.
However, reports reveal that Vodafone may not be in agreement with the regulator’s move. The company has said that it comes as a surprise that the regulator is now considering giving the largest player in the market permission to use its existing spectrum for 4G services before the rules for the auction have even been concluded or it has divested spectrum as required by the European Commission. The company also claims they seriously doubt that consumers’ best interests will be served by giving one company a significant head start before any of its competitors have a clear path to 4G.
Three delays mobile payment platform launch (UK)
Three leading telecom operators in UK had come together to offer customers a common platform for mobile payment services. As reported earlier, mobile operators Everything Everywhere, O2 and Vodafone revealed plans to offer consumers a common platform, enabling them to pay for goods and services using their mobile handset.
However, according to reports, mobile operator Three has opposed these plans, stating that such a move is discriminatory, as it was excluded from the same. The plan, which has been forwarded to the European Commission for approval, may be delayed owing to this opposition.
Stephen Lerner, regulatory affairs director at Three, said that the JV will control and sell access to over 90 per cent of UK mobile subscribers and their data, thus allowing Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Vodafone and Telefónica to foreclose the market to third-parties and neatly do away with the inconvenience of competing with each other.
He added that they will continue to work with the competition authorities in Europe and the Office of Fair Trading in the UK to ensure that consumers benefit from the development of a competitive market for these services.
European Commission postpones review of Google-Motorola deal (USA)
The European Commission has reportedly asked Google to provide more information regarding its proposal to purchase Motorola Mobility for US$ 12.5 billion before it gives the approval for the same. According to reports, the ruling which was initially scheduled for January 10 has been postponed to a later date, as the Commission has asked Google to provide certain documents critical to the evaluation process.
As reported by Wireless Federation earlier, industry sources claim that this deal will further empower Google to expand its market share as well as better compete with rival Apple Inc. Further, this deal is expected to bring over 17,000 patents that can be used by Google to protect the Android software platform.
Hungary, Spain to implement GSM Directive in full
The European Commission has formally requested Hungary and Spain to comply in full with the EU’s updated GSM Directive by ensuring that the 900MHz frequency band can be used for 3G services. Member of States had agreed to implement the amended GSM Directive into national law by 9th May 2010
The requests to Hungary and Spain are in the form of reasoned opinions under EU infringement procedures. If Hungary and/or Spain fail to inform the Commission of measures taken to comply with their obligations under the amended GSM within two months, the Commission could decide to refer them to the Court of Justice and request the Court to impose financial penalties.
Hungary and Spain have not yet adopted or notified the Commission of national measures. As a result, mobile telecoms operators in these countries are potentially denied access to radio frequencies in the 900 MHz band for UMTS services and customers are potentially denied access to high-speed mobile internet services. The Commission has, therefore, today decided to formally request these countries to take appropriate measures within two months to implement the updated GSM Directive in full.
The European Commission will continue to monitor the effective implementation of the GSM Directive in all EU countries to ensure that GSM spectrum bands are made available for 3G technology, taking into account any potential competitive distortions that could occur.
European government urges to introduce mobile satellite services
European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, has issued an urgent call to twenty one EU countries to introduce all the legislative measures necessary to allow the pan-EU deployment of mobile satellite services . These services could be for high-speed internet, mobile television and radio or emergency communications to EU consumers and businesses.
According to the timetable agreed by a Decision of the European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers in 2008, Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) should be deployed in all EU Member States by May 2011 at the latest. But, more than twenty months after the Commission selected two operators to provide such pan-European services, 21 Member States have not yet adopted all the national rules needed to facilitate MSS deployment.
Vice-President Kroes recently requested two operators to step up their efforts. The key role that wireless broadband (both satellite and terrestrial) can play to ensure broadband coverage, including in remote and rural areas, is underlined in the Digital Agenda for Europe.
Alcatel-Lucent and SWU TeleNet partner to bring broadband to Rural Germany
German regional network operator, SWU TeleNet has started to deploy a high speed broadband network in 14 districts of Ulm in South Germany, in association with French-US vendor Alcatel-Lucent.
According to report, the rollout forms part of the ‘Internet-Offensive 2012′ initiative, under which the rural region of Ulm is preparing to meet and surpass the targets of the European Commission’s Digital Agenda. The agenda aims to provide every European citizen with 30Mbps broadband by 2020.
By the end of 2013 around 12,000 households in the Ulm region will be connected to the new high speed broadband network, which is based on both copper (VDSL2) and fibre (GPON) technologies and supports download speeds of up to 50Mbps.
According to Andreas Kovi, Managing Director of SWU TeleNet, they are pleased with the successful launch of their broadband pilot project in Jungingen. Further municipalities will follow, leveraging the products and support from Alcatel-Lucent. From the very beginning they have adopted the open network model. It enables service providers to offer attractive services, such as e-health or IPTV, to a much wider target audience.
EU expects major Chinese govt support for Huawei, ZTE
If reports are to be believed, the European Commission believes Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., China’s largest telecommunications equipment makers, benefit from massive credit lines from Chinese state-owned banks and other significant government support.
The findings are likely to fuel further debate regarding the treatment of the large subsidies that–according to western governments and companies–Chinese businesses receive from the Chinese government. Western trade experts state that Huawei, which has rapidly grown to become the world’s No.2 telecommunications equipment maker, is a compelling example of a Chinese company that has been nurtured to global dominance using such subsidies.
The commission document, circulated to European Union national governments this week, explains that the preliminary results of commission investigations into unfair Chinese trade practises alleged by Option NV, a small Belgian maker of wireless modems. The commission in the document proposes to close the investigations without finishing them, because Option withdrew its complaints in October.
The document concludes that nevertheless, several important issues have come to light which remain unanswered by the major exporting producers of this product.
The major European Union producers of telecommunications equipment–Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent–have seen their margins squeezed by stiff competition from Huawei and ZTE. Their rapid growth has prompted discussion among western firms that they are probably benefiting from extensive Chinese government support.
Over the last five years Option saw its share of the EU wireless modem market nearly disappear due to competition from Huawei and ZTE, which now control almost the entire European market.
Wireless modems, which connect computers to wireless Internet networks, are a relatively small business for Huawei and ZTE. The more important market is large network equipment such as Internet base stations for mobile networks–where the two Chinese firms compete with Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel Lucent.
The subsidies in question appear to be helping all parts of the Chinese firms’ business.
As per the document, the commission had the opportunity to investigate ZTE more thoroughly than Huawei before stopping the investigations. ZTE states it has access to credit lines of an enormous magnitude relative to its annual sales.
