Wireless Federation

Telefonica plans US$ 500 million investment in Colombia next year (Spain, Colombia)

On 12.09.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telefonica, a leading mobile operator in Spain, reportedly plans to invest as much as US$ 500 million in Colombia in the next year so as to increase its mobile and landline data service infrastructure. Mobile operator Movistar and landline company Colombia Telecomunicaciones are both units of the Spanish giant.

According to reports, Alfonso Gomez, President, Telefonica Group has said that in terms of their fixed operation, they continue growing in broadband. Further, between fixed and mobile telephones in 2011 they invested $6.17 billion and hope to invest the same or more next year.

As reported by Wireless Federation earlier, the Colombian government had said that it would liquidate the assets of Telfonica Telecom, its joint venture with Telefonica, in the event that Congress would not approve its capitalization plan worth US$ 3.8 billion.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Alfonso Gomez • Colombia • Movistar • Spain • Telefonica

Vodafone to launch ‘Vodafone Guardian’ app (UK)

On 12.01.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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’.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Egypt • Germany • Ireland • Italy • Mobile • Netherlands • New Zealand • parental control • smart tutor • Spain • Vodafone Guardian app

Telefonica to complete online assets review by 2012 (Spain)

On 11.25.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Spanish telecommunications company, Telefonica, is reportedly planning to complete the review of its online assets, Tuenti and Jajah, by early 2012. As per sources, Matthew Key, CEO, Telefonica Digital has said that the company will decide whether to retain or build out assets in markets such as Spain, where it is struggling to stop customers from switching to cheaper rivals.

According to reports, Telefonica aims to take on Facebook and Microsoft Corp., by pulling together its digital assets across three continents. Further, Key has also said that Telefonica is running a separate review of its media assets, including Imagenio, an online TV service along with some Latin American channels; some of which may have an investment implication.

As reported by Wireless Federation earlier, Telefonica has been actively cutting jobs, halting major mergers and acquisitions and reviewing underperforming assets in an attempt to reduce its debt and manage the 22 percent slide in the stock this year.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Facebook • Matthew Key • Microsoft Corp • online assets review • Spain • Telefonica

Telefonica and RIM to offer wallet services on NFC enabled BlackBerry phones (Spain, Canada)

On 11.24.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telefonica Digital is reportedly launching a pilot programme for its Telefonica wallet services for BlackBerry smartphones, in collaboration with Canada based Research In Motion (RIM). According to reports, Telefonica plans to roll out the Telefonica wallet for about 350 employees at its Spain headquarters. Sources believe that this service will enable users to make payments in a convenient manner by simply tapping their BlackBerry smartphone against a reader.

As per sources, Julio Linares, COO, Telefónica, S.A has said that they have chosen the BlackBerry solution for this pilot because of the security that the platform brings. Further, Matthew Key, Chairman & CEO Telefonica Digital, has said that they are getting closer to the point where customers will be able to take the contents of their wallets and put them on their mobiles. He added that such trials are an important step towards ensuring a great customer experience and that they look forward to seeing the launch of commercial wallet services in several markets next year.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Blackberry • Canada • NFC • RIM • Spain • Telefonica Digital • wallet services

Telefonica signs network sharing agreement with China Unicom (Spain, China)

On 11.22.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Denmark • Argentina • Australia • Austria • Belgium • Brazil • Bulgaria • Chile • China • China Unicom • Colombia • Czech Republic • Ecuador • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Guatemala • Hong Kong • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Japan • Latvia • Lithuania • Mexico • Morocco • Netherlands • Network Sharing • Norway • Oman • Panama • Peru • Poland • Portugal • Puerto Rico • Romania • Singapore • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Telefonica • USA • Venezuela

Telefonica may sell assets to reduce debt (Europe)

On 11.18.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Europe’s largest telecom operator, Telefonica, may reportedly sell off its underperforming assets in an attempt to reduce its debt and regain investors confidence after the revenue loss in Spain. According to reports, the operator has no intention of selling its operations in Germany, Mexico and the Czech Republic, or its 9.7 percent stake in China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.

However, sources claim that the operator has been assessing its business to identify the underperforming assets which can be sold off to reduce their debt amount. As per reports, Cesar Alierta, CEO, Telefonica has been actively cutting down on the size of the workforce along with putting a stop to any merger or amalgamation activity to make up for the losses faced in the year. Further, it has been reported that the operator has been relying heavily on the Latin American economy which accounts for 47 percent of its sales.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: asset sale • Cesar Alierta • China • China Unicom • Czech Republic • Germany • Hong Kong • Mexico • Spain • Telefonica

Vodafone may be in talks to acquire KPN’s Spanish unit (Europe)

On 11.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Belgium • Elco Blok • France • Germany • KPN • Netherlands • Ortel • Simyo • Spain • Vodafone

Telefonica reports loss in Q3 results; first in nine years (Europe)

On 11.15.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telefonica, the largest telecom operator in Europe, has reported a net loss of USD 589.7 million for this year, a significant decline from the revenue amount of $ 7 billion during the same quarter last year. According to reports, the company has attributed the loss to the challenging economy, regulatory policies and competitive environments along with the cost to cut jobs.

As per sources, the telecom operator is working on reducing its debt, cutting down on its workforce in Spain and putting a stop to its mergers and acquisitions in an attempt to win back investor confidence. The company reportedly saw mobile data revenues accounting for 41 percent of the entire mobile service revenue, not including the Spanish market.

According to company reports, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, Chairman and CEO, Telefonica Europe has said that the company has continued to see the benefits of its successful tiered pricing mobile data strategy. Mobile data revenues – driven by increasing smartphone penetration and spiralling mobile data usage – represented 41 per of total mobile service revenues in the first nine months of 2011, compared to 36 per cent in the same period of 2010. Further, Strong commercial results by Telefónica Germany offset moderate performances elsewhere in the Group, where the operating businesses have seen growth restricted by increasingly challenging macro-economic climates.

He also reportedly said that Telefónica Europe’s total customer base reached 57.8 million at the end of September 2011 – a 5 per cent rise year-on-year, while the mobile base was 48 million, with growth mainly in the contract segment.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Germany • Mobile Data Revenues • q3 • Spain • Telefonica • USA

Vodafone raises full year profit forecasts as results beat estimates (Europe)

On 11.09.11, In Mobile, By Editor

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.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Apple iPhone • Google Android • India • Italy • profit forecasts • Spain • Turkey • Vodafone

Telefonica to launch cheaper tariffs to reduce churn (Spain)

On 11.08.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telefónica, a leading integrated operator in the telecommunication sector, is reportedly launching cheaper and more user friendly tariffs in an attempt to reduce loss of customers to rival operators. According to reports, the telecom company has said that it hopes to use the economic crisis as an opportunity to boost efficiency.

As per sources, Spanish unit head, Luis Miguel Gilperez said a series of flat tariffs would be offered from this week to Spanish customers, including a $6.90 per month discount if they are ADSL customers as well. He added that this was not just about cutting prices but is also a way of focussing on customer needs.

According to industry reports, as many as half a million mobile customers have switched to cheaper rival operators such as France Telecom’s Orange and TeliaSonera’s Yoigo, in this year. Further, the company has also lost out on the ADSL market share which fell from 52.7 percent in last December to 50.36 percent this August.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Churn • France • Orange • Spain • Telefonica • TeliaSonera Yoiga