France telecom to acquire Ezypt’s Mobinil
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: France Telecom got a green signal from Egypt’s regulator to acquire the assets of Egypt’s largest mobile carrier Mobinil. The decision puts an end to the dispute between France Telecom and Orascom
Telecom, other major shareholder in Mobinil.
Three offers ranging from EGP187/share, EGP237/share, and EGP230/share were made by France Telecom to buy Mobinil shares. The final offer that was accepted was 245 Egyptian pounds per share (€30.15).
Orascom Telecom is now left with two options, either to respond to the decision by selling all its shares of Mobinil and the holding company to France Telecom or objecting to the offer and challenging it through court or another arbitration round.
Meanwhile, the French Competition Authority fined France Telecom with €63 million, along with its Caribbean subsidiary, Orange Caraibe, following a complaint from Bouygues Telecom’s Caribbean subsidiary. In the complain, the telco is accused of thwarting competition in the mobile and landline markets in the French overseas territories of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana.
In other complaints it is also accused of offering fixed to mobile tariffs to corporate clients at rates that were below reasonable costs.
Arcep takes aim at cut-in mobile voice termination rates (France)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Arcep, Telecommunications regulator of France, has opened a public consultation until 30 June on lower mobile voice termination rates to be charged in the country’s overseas territories in 2010. Presently, the dominant operators Orange Caraibe charge EUR 0.087 and SRR charge EUR 0.085. The regulatorintends to slash the rates from EUR 0.087 and EUR 0.085 to EUR 0.055. Arcep also plans to impose a maximum rate of EUR 0.12 for Dauphin Telecom, EUR 0.065 for Digicel, EUR 0.07 for Orange Reunion, EUR 0.10 for Outremer Telecom in Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique, and EUR 0.11 in Reunion and Mayotte, and EUR 0.12 for UTS Caraibe.
