Telekom Austria’s Mobilkom wins Serbian licence
Telekom Austria has announced that its wholly owned wireless subsidiary Mobilkom has won the tender for the third mobile licence in Serbia. The company was the sole contender for the combined GSM/UMTS licence, for which it will pay the Serbian Regulatory Authority its asking price of EUR320 million (USD408 million); the Serbian government is expecting full payment to be made this year. Boris Nemsic, CEO of the Telekom Austria Group, was reported as saying that while the licence price was relatively high, he expected the Serbian business to be profitable within three years of launch, by which stage CAPEX investment in the network is set to reach EUR250 million. The terms of the licence stipulate that Mobilkom must launch services within six months and provide coverage to 20% of the population within a year. The network must be extended to cover 50% within two years and 80% within four.
The latest licence acquisition reflects a continuation of Telekom Austria’s strategy to develop mobile markets in south-eastern Europe. The company has already launched services in Croatia and Bulgaria but earlier this year was thwarted in its bid for a mobile licence in neighbouring Slovakia. In August this year its bid to acquire Serbian cellco Mobi063 was also unsuccessful when Telenor outbid it with an offer of EUR1.51 billion.
Source- telegeography Wireless Mobile Telecom
Orange to sell 3G ExpressCard
Mobile operator Orange is bringing faster wireless data access to owners of the latest laptops, with a new 3G modem card that fits in an ExpressCard slot.
The ExpressCard slot is showing up in newer laptops from companies including Fujitsu Siemens, Dell, HP, Acer and Apple, where it replaces the older PC Card slot.
However, users wanting to buy add-in cards to access 3G networks have faced a problem, as there are few 3G cards on the market in the new ExpressCard form-factor.
Orange expects to start selling its ExpressCard, made by Novatel Wireless, to customers in France in December. The operator will offer it in the UK and other markets in 2007.
The card will operate on 3G (third generation) mobile networks, and take advantage of the higher data rate of HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology where available. Orange has upgraded its networks to use HSDPA in Spain, Belgium, Slovakia and France, with plans to introduce the service in the UK, Switzerland, Poland and Romania next year.
In August, Verizon Wireless became one of the first operators to start selling ExpressCards for 3G access. Verizon’s card, also made by Novatel, works on its high-speed CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimised) network. Dell also sells an ExpressCard for EV-DO networks.
ExpressCards are about half the size of a PC Card, and communicate faster with the computer than do PC Cards. HP began selling notebooks with ExpressCard slots in November 2004 and others started using the new standard last year.
A number of laptop makers and operators have also announced efforts to embed 3G cards into the computers. Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Fujitsu-Siemens are among those that have announced or started selling laptops with built-in 3G capabilities.
Source- http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk
Movistar,O2 launch My Europe High Roamer service
Movistar and O2 mobile subscribers will receive free incoming calls when abroad.The mobile operators, both owned by Telefonica, have launched a programme called My Europe High Roamer service, which provides free incoming calls when roaming in Europe.
Movistar customers pay €10 per month to receive calls in 33 European countries, including Spain, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia and Vatican City. O2 customers will pay GBP5 per month, but will initially only be able to receive free calls when in Spain. Making roaming calls when abroad costs GBP 0.25 per minute – a 70 per cent discount on usual prices, says O2.
Source- http://www.dmeurope.com
O2, Movistar deal drops incoming charges when roaming
Telefonica is taking advantage of its new ownership of British mobile operator O2 to launch a roaming deal for British and Spanish customers. Under the My Europe High Roamer service, Spanish Movistar and British O2 customers now can receive free incoming calls when abroad. Customers with a Movistar contract will be charged EUR 10 a month to receive calls in 33 countries including Spain, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia and Vatican City. O2 customers will be charged GBP 5 a month for the subscription, but will only initially be able to receive calls for free when they are in Spain. O2 has said in the first half of next year, customers will be able to receive free calls in at least 35 more European countries. Making calls abroad under the tariff costs GBP 0.25 per minute, which O2 says is a 70 percent discount on usual prices. SMEs are eligible for half-price subscription if they commit to O2 for twelve months.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Disney, Orange sign pan-European mobile, VoD deals
Disney Channel and Orange have signed a pan-European mobile phone content agreement. The service will consist of 65- to 120-minute programming loops, including 22-minute episodes of shows such as That’s So Raven and cartoons like Kim Possible and Disney’s Recess. The service will be offered in the UK, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia and, in time, France. Orange has more than 2.9 million mobile broadband customers capable of watching the Disney content. In a related move, Buena Vista International Television and France Telecom-Orange have also signed agreements to extend their broadband VoD film licensing agreement in France to other European markets. Walt Disney, Touchstone and Miramax films soon will become available to Orange VoD subscribers in Spain and to TPSA VoD subscribers in Poland.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Telefonica O2 to launch in Slovakia in first quarter 2007
Telefonica O2 will start mobile telephony services in Slovakia in first quarter of 2007, reports El Economista. The Spanish operator, which was awarded a licence to become the country’s third mobile operator, made an announcement to the country’s press on 5 October. It said it would employ between 150 and 200 people. Under the Slovakian licence, Telefonica can use GSM 900 frequencies, as well as 1,800 MHz, UMTS and FS 29 GHz. CTK Czech News Agency reported last month that Telefonica O2 Slovakia was expected to launch service by the end of this year.
Source- http://www.telecompaper.com
Telefonica to offer services in Slovakia in Q1 2007
BRATISLAVA (AFX) – Telefonica SA, which won a tender for Slovakia’s third mobile operator license in August, said it will start offering its services from the first quarter of 2007.
Telefonica is in talks with two existing mobile operators about interoperability, and expects to be able to test its network by the end of this year, said Telefonica 02 Slovakia CEO, Juraj Sedivy at a press conference.
During the first year, Telefonica expects to hire 150 to 200 staff, he said.
The present leading mobile operators in Slovakia are Orange Slovensko, wholly-owned by France Telecom’s Orange unit, and T-Mobile Slovensko, wholly-owned by Deutsche Telekom’s T-Com operations here.
Source- http://www.hemscott.com
Cooperation agreement between IndiaGames and Touchlink Mobile
HERNING, DENMARK, September 27, 2006 Touchlink Mobile, Danish mobile content developer and publisher, signed a cooperation agreement with Indiagames, leading international developer, publisher and distributor company.
According to this agreement Touchlink Mobile acquires rights on distribution of more than 20 branded mobile games of Indiagames.
Among the hottest games performed by Indiagames are such names as Garfield Day Out, Garfield In Dreamland, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Van Helsing, Predator, Jurassic Park! And this is not even a half of the list that Touchlink Mobile will distribute soon!
World’s most famous brands carefully implemented in mobile games shall bring a great success for both companies and first of all a lot of fun to the audience! At least that what both companies are hoping for.
Touchlink Mobile and Indiagames are laying a good foundation for their hopefully successful and fruitful future cooperation.
About Indiagames
”’Indiagames Ltd.”’ is a leading international developer, publisher and distributor of video games for mobile phones, headquartered in India, with offices in Mumbai, Beijing, London and Los Angeles.
Indiagames develops and publishes games across multiple platforms including Java, BREW, Symbian, I-Mode, and Macromedia Flash Lite. Indiagames employs over 300 people on the development side. In addition to these, there are region specific business development and sales & marketing teams for the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Americas. These team members come from varied backgrounds ranging from consulting, entertainment and the media, research and telecommunications.
About Touchlink Mobile
”’Touchlink Mobile Aps.”’is Danish mobile content developer and publisher. Founded in year 2003 and headquartered in Herning, Denmark, company developed very dynamically and it has now offices in United States and Slovakia, highly professional development studious located in Kiev and Donetsk, Ukraine, powerful QA Team, creative and skilful Design Team, supported by the effective Sales and Marketing Departments implementing principles of the Scandinavian type of management!
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
