Vodafone inks data roaming deal with MobilKom (Czech Republic,Austria)
Vodafone Czech Republic has signed a roaming deal with MobilKom for the CDMA network, which covers 75% of the population. Vodafone sells a ‘combo modem’ for laptops which automatically connects to the company’s W-CDMA network in areas with 3G coverage and in other areas searches for the CDMA network. Vodafone’s 3G network coverage currently stands at 30% of the population, with 95% covered by EDGE.
The world’s largest mobile communications operator, with a presence in 28 countries, 17 of which are European, and the MobilKom Austria group, present in four European countries, have agreed to an exclusive cooperation. The collaboration is based on the Partner Concept.
According to Boris Nemsic, CEO MobilKom Austria and COO Wireless Telekom Austria, the company is entering into a partnership agreement, which will allow it to integrate into a global partner network without giving up company’s independence. The two operators will immediately initiate a joint strategic product development program in certain business areas, which will add to the respective strengths. For the customers, this cooperation means that they are being offered the best of both the worlds. The cooperation does not entail an equity investment by either company; both partners will continue to operate as independent companies.
According to Heinz Sundt, CEO Telekom Austria AG, for the benefit of the shareholders, this cooperation ensures that MobilKom Austria will continue to provide an attractive contribution to the financial performance of the Telekom Austria Group.
Vodafone to Offer National Roaming On CDMA Network (Czech Republic)
Czech Republic’s Vodafone has signed a national roaming deal with the CDMA network, MobilKom to enable its 3G data users to roam between the two networks. Vodafone is offering a dual-mode USB modem for laptops that will switch between WCDMA and CDMA networks as per the requirement.
According to Vodafone, it can now cover around 80% of the Czech population with 3G services. Vodafone’s own 3G network covers 30% of the population, while MobilKom covers 75% of the population.
According to Vice-President for Strategy and Planning at Vodafone, Colin Shea, the company’s current priority is to offer the customers the fastest mobile Internet possible, and to that end, Vodafone is now also using the CDMA network from MobilKom. At the same time, however, the company is continuing the intensive construction of 3G networks and, by the end of 2010; it wants this technology to cover 60 towns, including all the regional capitals.
According to Tom Budnk, CEO of MobilKom, the company is pleased that Vodafone is the first of the big companies to take advantage of the wholesale offer, which shares the official infrastructure for MobilKom and allows them to offer mobile Internet to customers under their own brand name. Similar cooperation between two operators in the Czech Republic is quite unique, while bringing considerable benefits to customers.
LTE not necessary for Austria’s mobilkom: CFO
As the mobile industry rushes to grab the LTE network, Telekom Austria revealed on Thursday that it will be several years before it rolls out a next-generation mobile network.
According to Hans Tschuden, CFO, Telekom Austria, The Company’s HSPA+ network is still sufficient. LTE is not a necessity right now. The lower cost of upgrading to HSPA+ compared to LTE is an important consideration in mobile markets like the one in Austria, where intense competition and regulatory intervention over interconnection and roaming fees have pressured earnings. HSPA+ is very resourceful from a cost outlook because it’s a software upgrade. LTE requires capex and one has to make the necessary bandwidth available.
Telekom Austria’s mobile took over mobilkom in March 2009 and became one of the first operators all over the world to roll out HSPA+.
Mobile operators join force on global apps platform
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An open international applications platform has been launched by a joint force of the world’s largest mobile operators. This marks the largest unified move to date by the operator community into the mobile apps space.
A combination of 24 of the world’s largest mobile carriers, the so called ‘Wholesale Applications Community’ includes America Movil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT, mobilkom Austria, MTN Group, NTT Docomo, Orange, Orascom Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, SingTel, SK Telecom, Sprint, VimpelCom and WIND.
Vodafone, China Mobile, SoftBank and Verizon Wireless in the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) mobile apps initiative are also included in the group. The move has been backed by GSMA, an industry association. The aim of the alliance is to create a wholesale platform for mobile apps providing a single point-of-entry for developers. Operators are also eyeing the revenue-generating potential of getting into the apps business.
The new operator-led initiative has also got the support from the handset vendors including LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.
300,000 new customers added by Mobilkom Austria in 2009
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: By adding 300,000 new customers and reaching more than 4.8 million totals, Mobilkom Austria claimed it saw the largest customer growth in the Austrian mobile market during 2009.
Mobile broadband customers of the operator increased year-on-year by more than one third to 540,000. HSPA+ network was launched by Mobilkom Austria in March 2009 enabling users to reach download speeds of up to 21 Mbps.
Mobilkom Austria contests Slovak mobile tender
Austrian mobile operator Mobilkom Austria is considering legal action over Slovakia’s handling of a tender on a third mobile license, while another failed bidder, Slovak private equity group Penta Investments, has filed an appeal with the supreme state attorney asking for a revision of the tender awarded to Telef³nica O2 Slovakia.
Penta participated in the tender in consortium with Czech alternative operator Radiokomunikace under the name B Four. Penta spokesman Martin Danko told CBW that Penta filed the appeal because it’s convinced that the tender wasn’t conducted in accordance with the law (see CBW online news, Aug. 24, 2006). The Slovak Telecom Office (Tš SR) named Telef³nica O2 Slovakia the winner Aug. 2. Radiokomunikace declined to comment on the issue. “The tender wasn’t fair and transparent,” Danko said. The committee for evaluating the bids was composed of members who had clear conflicts of interest, he alleged. Furthermore, the committee members were changed during the tender – which is illegal – and the importance placed on each criterion wasn’t announced beforehand, Danko said. In its complaint, Penta also alleges that the Tš SR didn’t fulfill formal requirements when asking for bids and announcing the winner.
“The only way the [Slovak] telecommunication office can solve such serious accusations with dignity is to either cancel the tender or publish details of the applicants’ offers along with criteria and its quantification,” said Penta investment director Marek Ondrejka in a news release issued late Aug. 24. Penta is confident that its offer was the best and is ready to have its bid publicly compared to those of the other applicants, the press release said.
The Tš SR had stated that within four weeks of announcing the tender result it will issue the right to use the frequency spectrum to the winner, during which time the detailed license conditions and rollout plans will also be specified.
Last week, Mobilkom Austria asked the Tš SR not to allocate the GSM, UMTS and FS frequencies to Telef³nica 02 Slovakia and called on the regulator to repeat the tender for the third mobile license. “In our opinion, the tender wasn’t in accordance with the [Slovak] electronic communications law,” Erich Gnad, the company’s international operations department chief, told Slovak news agency SITA, adding that it wasn’t transparent or in line with standard norms.
The Slovak capital group Eco-Invest, which bid in a consortium with Mobilkom Austria, plans to use all options available under Slovak law to protect its interests, the group said in separate press release.
Telef³nica O2 Slovakia offered Sk 150 million (K?? 111 million/€ 3.97 million) for the 20-year license. B Four offered Sk 400 million and Mobilkom Austria Sk 250 million. The license includes the right to use frequencies GSM 900 MHz, GSM 1800 Mhz, UMTS and FS 29 GHz to provide telecommunication services in Slovakia – but experts warn that Slovakia won’t be an easy market for a new entrant. Apart from the relatively high mobile penetration, over 80 percent, in a fairly small market of 5.4 million people, any new third mobile operator will be taking on established mobile operators Orange Slovakia, a unit of France Telecom, and T-Mobile Slovakia, controlled by Deutsche Telecom. Orange Slovakia and T-Mobile Slovakia have 2.5 million and 2 million customers, respectively. Besides taking on the competition, the new entrant will have to invest an estimated € 1 billion over the next three years on roll out and network building, which won’t be easy due to the Slovakia’s generally hilly landscape and the Tatra mountain range, with peaks more than 2,500 meters high.
Source- http://www.cbw.cz
Technorati : Austria, Mobile, Mobilkom, O2, Slovakia, Telefonica
Ice Rocket : Austria, Mobile, Mobilkom, O2, Slovakia, Telefonica
