Vodafone relies on Verizon as profit from Europe declines (USA, UK)
Telecom operator Vodafone Group Plc will have to rely on its U.S. wireless venture to meet profit estimates and cover up declining sales in the European markets, largely Spain and Italy, according to a report by BN.
Vodafone said that operating profit excluding some items may rise as much as 3.2 percent in the 12 months ending March 2013. Profit on that basis slipped 2.4 percent last year to $18 billion after the sale of a stake in its SFR French unit. Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile carrier, accounted for 42 percent of the total, an increase of 9.3 percent.
As per the report, Vodafone, which relies on western Europe for most of its revenue, is no longer the world’s biggest mobile-phone company as China Mobile Ltd. boosted sales last year to $81.7 billion. While profits and sales at Verizon Wireless are rising, Newbury, England-based Vodafone still needs to negotiate dividends every year with U.S. partner Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), which controls 55 percent of the venture.
Vodafone interested in acquiring 10 percent stake in Metroweb (Italy)
Vodafone Italy is reportedly working to acquire a minimum 10 percent stake in Metroweb, a fibre-optic company. According to reports, Metroweb’s clientele currently includes Telecom Italia, Vodafone, Wind Telecomunicazioni and Fastweb, a unit of Swisscom.
Sources claim that the fiber-optic company had hinted at plans of extending its network in various cities of Italy with its prime focus towards the northern end. Further, F2i, the investment and infrastructure unit of Intesa Sanapaolo had reportedly agreed to pay $ 587 million to acquire Metroweb in May 2011, while Fastweb agreed to buy 11 percent of the company last month.
Vodafone to launch ‘Vodafone Guardian’ app (UK)
Mobile phone operator Vodafone has come out with a new parental control service allowing parents to monitor and restrict unwanted content and misuse of the mobile phone by children. According to reports, the new service to be titled ‘Vodafone Guardian’ will enable parents to blacklist certain numbers, transfer unwanted texts to a secured folder as well as set up an approved list for outgoing calls.
Further, sources claim that the new application would also enable parents to restrict internet use as well as manage access to the phone’s camera. With a large number of children owning a smartphone and spending a lot of time surfing the internet, parents have often raised concerns regarding the content being viewed.
The app will reportedly be free of charge and will be made available in a week’s time in the UK along with Egypt, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Further, Vodafone also plans to launch the app in Italy and Spain under the name ‘Smart Tutor’.
Telefonica signs network sharing agreement with China Unicom (Spain, China)
Spanish telecom operator Telefonica has reportedly entered into a strategic partnership with China Unicom, wherein both operators will use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. According to reports, the deal will provide Telefonica access to China Unicom’s network in the regions of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, France and Sweden.
In return, China Unicom can reportedly increase its presence through Telefonica’s network in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.
Reports suggest that Telefonica believes this agreement will help both operators expand their capabilities to provide telecom services to various customers in different geographic areas.
Any consolidation of mobile market in Russia to include Tele2 says VimpleCom (Europe)
VimpleCom, the third largest telecom operator in Russia, has reportedly said that any consolidation in the telecom industry in Russia will have to involve Tele2 as there will be no consolidation among the top three wireless operators of the country.
Mobile TeleSystems is the leading operator in the country followed by MegaFon and VimpleCom. Tele2 is currently the fourth largest player serving over 20 million customers. As per sources, Jo Lunder, CEO, VimpleCom said that the outcome of the 4G spectrum auction would be crucial in deciding the future performance of the operators.
He added that VimpelCom’s biggest operational challenge is to improve its performance in its Russian home market. As per reports, the CEO also said that the focus of the firm, which also has operations in parts of Asia and Africa, as well as in Italy and Canada, is more on cash generation and less on building subscriber and revenue market share.
According to reports, Lunder also said that they are very optimistic with regards to Wind and the Italian market, having secured good spectrum for 4G in Italy, and expect it to develop into an advanced data market.
Vimplecom blames forex loss for decline in Q3 results (Russia)
Russian telecom operator, Vimplecom has reportedly listed the $400 million foreign exchange related losses as a key factor for the $356 million decline in the third-quarter net profit of the operator. According to reports, the network operator had said that its net profit was $104 million, down from $460 million on a proforma basis in the third quarter of 2010.
As per company reports, as much as $180 million was lost on movements in the euro/USD exchange rate. Further, the company also said that $110 million was attributable to the intercompany loan to Wind Mobile in Canada. Vimplecom has also reportedly claimed that it recorded a non-cash loss of around $110 million related to the fair value adjustment of embedded derivatives in Wind Italy.
Vodafone raises full year profit forecasts as results beat estimates (Europe)
Vodafone Group PLC, a global telecom leader, has reportedly raised its full year profit forecast from US$ 18.3 billion to $18.9 billion, on account of increased sales in India and new internet based tariff plans. According to reports, England based Vodafone aims to improve data sales from smartphones including Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android based smartphones in an attempt to counter its declining revenues in Europe.
As per sources, Vittori Colao, CEO, Vodafone has said that they have been gaining market share in most of their major markets and are achieving sustained growth in the key areas of data, emerging markets and enterprise. Further, reports suggest that Vodafone has shifted its focus towards tiered pricing for data billing with a larger emphasis on consumption-based tariffs.
According to industry reports, Vodafone’s sales for the first half rose by 4.1 percent to US$ 37.7 billion as compared to the estimated $ 37.5 billion. Further, it has been reported that while service revenue has been high in Turkey and India, at 28 percent and 18 percent respectively, Spain and Italy saw a decline in the same amounting to 9.3 percent and 3 percent respectively. Consequently, it has been reported that Vodafone plans to reduce its tariffs in Spain in order to counter the competition.
Wind pays first instalment of US$ 941 million for 4G spectrum (Italy)
VimpelCom Ltd.’s fully owned subsidiary in Italy, Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A., has reportedly paid US$ 941 million as the first payment for the 800MHz and 2600MHz 4G frequencies awarded to the company on 29th September 2011. As per reports, Wind will pay the remaining amount of approximately US$ 605 million in five equal instalments from November 2012.
According to sources, the acquired spectrum will enable Wind to launch high quality 4G LTE services in the coming years. Further, reports suggest that while the 2,600 MHz spectrum will be made available immediately, the 800MHz spectrum will be available from 2013, with a validity till 2029 for both spectrums.
4G auction raises USD 4.99 billion, surpasses government expectations (Italy)
According to reports, Italy has crossed raised US$ 4.99 billion through the auction for new 4G mobile network frequencies, surpassing the government’s expectation of USD 4.2 billion.
Of the four mobile operators that had put in their bid for the 4G mobile frequencies, three of the operators comprising of Telecom Italia SpA, Vodafone Group Plc and Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A of VimpelCom Ltd., won the available blocks in the 800 Mhz frequency band. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd.’s 3 Italia, had also put in the bid but was unsuccessful in receiving the frequency.
The auction for the other available frequencies, in the 1800, 2000 and 2600 MHz band will continue this week.
Wind Italy carries out trial for HSPA+ in Milan (Italy)
Italy’s third largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers, Wind Italy, has reportedly tested HSPA+ in Milan. Wind partnered with Nokia Siemens for the trial of the new technology which offers download speeds of upto 42 Mbps.
According to reports, Ziad Shatara, CTO of Wind Italy, has said that in order to improve the quality of services for their customers, and rapidly expand their mobile broadband business, they needed strategic partners to implement technology quickly and smoothly. With its ability to innovate, vast experience in network modernisation and focus on energy efficiency, they found an ideal partner in Nokia Siemens Networks’.
The HSPA+ technology enables operators to better meet the subscriber’s needs leading to enhanced customer experience. Further, HSPA benefits operators by making more efficient use of spectrum. Thus operators can easily and cost-effectively accommodate more users and services without having to buy additional spectrum. Also, it reduces operators’ overhead costs, and thus, makes them better able to price their HSPA services at a point that is competitive yet profitable.
