Ofcom revises proposal for LTE auction plans (UK)
Independent regulator and competition authority Ofcom, has reportedly made changes to its proposal for the upcoming LTE mobile spectrum auction in an attempt to provide better mobile internet services in many rural and underserved areas.
As per sources, Ed Richards, CEO, Ofcom, has said that they are proposing a significant enhancement of mobile broadband, extending 4G coverage beyond levels of existing 2G coverage – helping to serve many areas of the UK that have traditionally been underserved by network coverage.
Further, reports reveal that the competition authority had initially reserved some portion of the spectrum for Everthing Everywhere which is no longer a part of the revised proposal. Ofcom claims that because of their current spectrum holdings, and/or the much lower risk that these national wholesalers would fail to acquire further spectrum in the auction, they do not consider it necessary to reserve any spectrum for Everything Everywhere, Telefonica or Vodafone.
The regulator also believes it is more viable to reserve some of the available spectrum for a fourth national wholesaler, someone other than Everything Everywhere, Telefonica or Vodafone.
China Telecom to launch MVNO service in UK (China, UK)
China Telecom (Europe), China Telecom’s wholly-owned subsidiary for the EMEA region, has entered into a network sharing agreement with mobile operator Everything Everywhere for launching its MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) service in UK in the coming months.
According to company reports, the partnership was secured through Everything Everywhere’s Mobile Virtual Network Aggregator (MVNA) Transatel. Further, with this deal, China Telecom (Europe) plans to target Chinese residents and businesses in the UK, as well as visitors to the country such as students and tourists.
Yan Ou, Managing Director, China Telecom (Europe) has reportedly said that entering the UK mobile market is a strategic move for the operator. Also, they selected Everything Everywhere based on the strength of its network, and Transatel’s proven track record of getting MVNOs up and running quickly and efficiently. He added that they are keen to launch the service in the UK as soon as possible as there is a real gap in the market for the provision of tailored mobile services and competitive tariffs aimed at the growing Chinese population in the UK.
Company reports reveal that Marc Overton, Vice President (Wholesale and M2M), Everything Everywhere, said that they are delighted that they have been selected by China Telecom (Europe) as its MVNO partner in the UK. Further, Everything Everywhere offers MVNO customers the biggest 3G network and widest 3G coverage in the UK, making them the partner of choice for MVNOs.
Everything Everywhere announces ‘You Choose’ for T-Mobile customers (UK)
Mobile network operator Everything Everywhere has announced the roll out of a new interactive mobile advertising service titled ‘You Choose’ for T-Mobile customers. According to company reports, the new service, modeled on the ‘Orange Shots’ strategy, will be launched for certain segments of T-Mobile’s customer base and will provide brands with a platform for engaging and interacting with consumers.
As per sources, ‘You Choose’ will enable brands to deliver fun and creative content specifically tailored to T-Mobile’s prepaid and postpaid customer preferences. Further, the service which is powered by SMS and MMS advertising specialist Blyk, will allow customers to send back a free message to the advertiser, enabling them to give views and opinions on the content they receive.
Company reports reveal that Gerry McQuade,Chief Marketing Officer (Non Consumer Mobile), Everything Everywhere has said that they are pleased tobe rolling out their interactive mobile advertising service on T-Mobile for the first time. He added that only Everything Everywhere customers get to benefit from receiving great content and offers via SMS & MMS which they can interact with enhancing their mobile experience whilst at the same time providing a great opportunity for relevant advertisers.
3UK approached by Everything Everywhere, Vodafone and O2 to join m-payment venture (UK)
Mobile operators, Everything Everywhere along with O2 and Vodafone, are reportedly talking with operator 3 UK to join them in their joint venture for mobile payment services. According to reports, Vodafone plans to submit the proposals for the venture by early 2012.
The operators have reportedly said that the proposal will provide the European Commission with the relevant details associated with the venture as well as highlight the benefits provided to customers. As per sources, the joint venture will offer customers and retailers a common platform for mobile payment services, in collaboration with the banking industry.
Everything Everywhere plans US$ 2.35 billion network upgrade (UK)
Mobile network operator Everything Everywhere has reportedly revealed its plans to upgrade its network over the next three years for which it will be spend approximately US$ 2.35 billion. According to reports, Olaf Swantee, CEO, Everything Everywhere has said that with mobile data increasing 250 percent over the past two years, they are making these investments in an attempt to deliver on their ambition to provide the U.K.’s most reliable, biggest and best mobile data network.
Further, as per sources, the company has also said that said it is in the final stages of enabling Orange and T-Mobile customers to use 2G and 3G signals from either of the two networks, which should improve speeds in more locations. The operator added that the customers are already benefiting from a 20 percent reduction in dropped calls in localized areas.
Everything Everywhere announces new bank financing facilities worth $ 1.35 billion (UK)
UK’s mobile operator, Everything Everywhere has reportedly announced new bank financing facilities worth $ 1.35 billion, in the next step towards becoming an independent entity. According to reports, the operator will use the facilities to refinance a part of the loan received by parent companies France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom worth $ 1.93 billion.
As per sources, Neal Milsom, CFO, Everything Everywhere, has said that they are pleased to receive the support of the high quality lenders who are participating in their new bank financing facilities. The participating banks include Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays Capital, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Lloyds Bank, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Reports suggest that Everything Everywhere claims that the there will be no change in its ownership structure after the refinancing, and that it will continue to be a 50:50 joint venture between France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom.
Everything Everywhere to repay loans from parent companies (UK)
Everything Everywhere, the dominant mobile operator in the UK, is reportedly planning to repay the loan taken from its two parent companies, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, in an attempt to make itself an independent unit.
As per sources, the operator has lined up seven banks consisting of HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC), Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Barclays PLC (BCS), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG), Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) to raise $ 1.4 billion to repay the loan.
Further, reports also suggest, that the mobile operator plans to raise about $ 1.28 billion from the bond market in 2012 to aid future corporate investment.
Three raises concern over joint mobile payment service (UK)
UK based company, Three, has objected to the joint venture by network operators O2, Everything Everywhere and Vodafone which seeks to offer users a single system of paying for goods and services via mobile phones, citing unfair competition. Three met with the European Commission (EC) regarding the joint venture and has reportedly said that it will provide a more in-depth response when the operators make a formal submission to competition authorities.
According to reports, Stephen Lerner, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Three UK has said that the planned and explicit exclusion of Three from the proposed UK mCommerce joint venture is designed to weaken Three’s ability to be a competitive force in the UK and denies the initiative’s claimed ambition to be a ‘One Stop Shop’ for mCommerce. He added that instead of competing for the benefit of consumers, the three operators that hold 90% of the UK market have engaged in a cozy collaboration and closed ranks against competition.
In a bid to counter Three’s claim, a joint statement from the three operators said that the fact that other companies are not shareholders in the venture has no impact on their ability to benefit from the technology it will develop. The carriers further stated that they have already opened dialogue with the European Commission and expect to have further discussions and make a formal submission later in the year, as per reports.
China telecom may launch mobile services in UK
China Telecom Corporation Ltd, the country’s third largest wireless operator, has reportedly been in talks with network operators in UK, in order to lease network capacity for selling mobile services in the country. With this move China Telecom aims to target the tourist population for the London Olympics in 2012, along with the Chinese subscriber base living in UK.
Sources claim that the company has approached Everything Everywhere, a venture between Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA, and the Vodafone Group Plc. Often, mobile operators lease bulk network at wholesale prices, which helps them reduce operating expenses and offer competitive rates to their subscribers.
According to VisitBritain, the UK government’s tourism agency, the fastest increase in tourism to the UK from any country has been from China, with the number of visitors expected to increase by a further 89 percent by 2014. Following success in this venture, China Telecom may also expand to other countries, such as Germany and France.
T-Mobile USA, Everything Everywhere allow international M2M deployment
T-Mobile USA, in partnership with Everything Everywhere and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has announced the ongoing development of the industry’s first embedded multi-mode international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) SIM.
Designed for cost-effective international machine-to-machine (M2M) deployment, the multi-mode solution will act as a local SIM when deployed in the U.S. and the UK.
This unique borderless solution will offer M2M application providers the ability to deploy multiple global subscriptions for reduced roaming costs and improved coverage in areas outside of local networks. The embedded multi-mode IMSI SIM is expected to be available before the end of the year.
