Samsung wins legal case against Apple in Netherlands (Europe)
South Korean handset maker Samsun has emerged victorious once again after a Dutch court rejected rival Apple Inc’s plea from banning the distribution of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the Netherlands. According to reports, the court has ruled in favour of Samsung, citing that the Galaxy Tab had some similarities to the design registered in 2004 but not to Apple’s iPad released in 2010.
As per sources, Apple had filed a legal suit against Samsung claiming patent infringement on its design, hardware and user interface among others. However, the ruling enables the Korean firm to sell its tablet computer in the Netherlands and throughout the European Union.
Reports reveal that the US giant had said that it was no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. Further, this kind of blatant copying is wrong and they need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal their ideas.
T-Mobile, Vodafone and KPN offices visited by NMa Authorities (Netherlands)
KPN, the leading telecommunications and ICT service provider in the Netherlands, along with T-Mobile and Vodafone were approached by the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) following an investigation regarding possible violations by the operators in the services provided.
According to reports, wireless carrier KPN has said that its headquarters were being investigated by the NMa over suspicions of concerted practice with regard to mobile telecommunications offerings on the Dutch consumer market and division of independent sales channels. Further, the company also said that five of its employees were being questioned with complete cooperation from the company.
As per sources, the regulator had imposed fines on these three operators in 2001 regarding unfair agreements on subsidies for mobile devices given to retailers, causing consumers to pay a higher price for the same.
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.
Vodafone may be in talks to acquire KPN’s Spanish unit (Europe)
Telecom giant Vodafone may reportedly be in talks to buy the Simyo mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Spanish business from Dutch telecom company, KPN. According to reports, KPN has been looking for prospective buyers, including Vodafone, for the sale of its Spanish operations.
As per sources, Elco Blok, CEO, KPN had said earlier in the year that they were looking to refocus KPN’s international mobile division, including expanding Ortel, its mobile phone business which targets immigrants, and would cut inefficient operations outside the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
Simyo is a low-budget, pre-paid mobile phone service, offered by KPN which is only obtainable online in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Spain, while Ortel is available in all the countries where KPN operates. Reports suggest that there are around 800,000 mobile customers using pre-paid services offered by KPN’s Spain and France units.
KPN considers Telefonica’s O2 for in-country consolidation (Germany)
Dutch telecom company KPN has reportedly said that it makes sense to merge its E-Plus business with O2 in Germany, as both operators currently lag behind telecom giants Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile). According to reports, Elco Blok, CEO, KPN has said there is value to be created in in-country consolidation in Germany and that merging O2 and E-Plus would give the opportunity to create a value of around US$ 4.05 billion.
As per sources, Bloc has reportedly said that neither they nor Telefonica are willing to sell their unit, but are convinced that with their strategy they can create value. However, he added that if the price is right and Telefonica are willing to sell, then it could be an interesting scenario as they have the management in Germany that has proven that it can run an asset far better than the others.
Regarding consolidation in the domestic market, Bloc said that Tele2 is a very attractive target but there are regulatory hurdles given their market share in the Netherlands and of course the price needs to be right. He added that the regulatory hurdles are there and they are not easy to solve.
Facebook leads the pack in terms of adoption as non-voice use of mobile phones soars
Across Europe, Facebook is increasingly becoming the preferred platform as far as mobile phone users are concerned. On top of being one of the top three messaging/email service providers, Facebook is poised to emerge as a major destination for viewing video clips, according to a study. Services offered by Facebook are being seen to be well placed to gain more popularity than its rivals in Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Emergence of Facebook stands to put pressure on local social networks across all markets. In Spain, Facebook has twice as many mobile users as Tuenti while Facebook users in Germany constitute three times the number of mobile users compared to local sites. Although, Hyves in the Netherlands is the major local player in Western Europe, Facebook is predicted to challenge it as well.
Increasing number of smartphones across Europe has see new ways by which mobile users use their phones. Survey respondents who participated in the study were understood to listen to music, play games and browse the Web on their mobile phones, while e-mail and social networking also constituted major indulgences.
The age group between 24 to 35 years who are mostly likely to own multiple devices and are tech-savvy and have more disposable income to spend on the latest services; usually, taken for the most niche target for mobile services. However, the over-35 years of age users are also believed to deserve greater focus now.
In the hindsight, for years the industry has been obsessed with 16 to 24 year olds, but rapid adoption of smartphones by an older audience means it is time to focus an older demographic for mobile services.
BBC unveils iPad app in Europe for its TV shows
BBC, the UK based broadcaster has announced the unveiling of an app for Apple’s iPad. The app makes it possible for reviewing the BBC television shows by way of the iPad’s inbuilt iPlayer app.
It is going to be an on-demand subscription service. Western Europe will witness the app’s launch in 11 markets, ahead of subsequent launches elsewhere. Services will be offered at $10.04 per month or $71.86 annually in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, in the app’s initial launch.
Subscribers will be able to both stream and download shows for offline viewing – the major highlight of the BBC app.
Ericsson to pitch in as technical partner as part of telco acquisition (Nigeria)
Snytel is a telecom based in Nigeria. The firm is known to have inked an agreement with Ericsson as part of their bid to acquire Nitel, the state-owned telco, in addition to Mtel, the latter’s mobile subsidiary.
The state owned telco has witnessed a number of failed sale bids in the form of cancelled sales, aborted bids and re-nationalization.
As per sources, Ericsson will be Snytel’s technical partner as part of the latter’s bid to purchase 75% stake in Nitel. Parallel to it, $1 billion worth of funds from an investor based in the USA, is claimed to be placed in a financial institution in the Netherlands, for more than a year now all set to be invested in the company.
According to Snytel’s Chairman and CEO, Mr. Precious Elekima, they have inexistence, one such partnership with Ericsson and provision of over $1 billion by DIKAI towards acquisition of NITEL/Mtel.
Elekima also claimed to have perfected plans so as to acquire and revive NITEL/Mtel to optimum capacity and assured that the telecommunication outfit would be fully operational within 180 days.
Currently, the proposal has been referred to the government for consideration.
EU member states served notice to expedite implementation of new telecom regulations
25th May 2011 was the deadline set by the European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers for the member states of the European Commission for full implementation of the new EU telecoms rules as part of their national law. Twenty of the EU member states have been sent information requests as to why they have not yet reverted with regard to the stipulated implementation of the telecoms rules.
Under the EU infringement procedures, the information requests are equivalent to letters of formal notice.
Under the ambit of the new EU telecoms rules, phones, mobile services and internet are taken into account with regard to rights of the consumers and businesses. The highlights of these rights comprise of customers being empowered to switch telecoms operators in just one day without changing their phone number, more transparency regarding the services customers are offered, in addition to securing their personal data online.
So far only seven Member States namely Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and the UK have confirmed the Commission of full implementation of the rules; a majority of the EU member states having notified the Commission of implementation to certain extents while the legislative processes are continuing.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain constitute the twenty other Member States that are yet to respond to the letters of formal notice within two months, failing which or even not being convincing, the Commission stands to issue the concerned Member States, a formal request to implement the legislation. The second request will be the form of a ‘reasoned opinion’ under EU infringement procedures. Eventually, the matter will be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
