USD2bn invested by Telkomsel in 2009
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: USD2.2 billion has been invested by Telkomsel, Indonesia’s leading mobile operator by subscribers, last year. The investment resulted in the annual subscriber growth of around 11%. Telkomsel currently has around 85 million customers, up from just 16.3 million users at December 31, 2004 and aims to reach 100-million subscribers by the end of 2010.
According to Pamasuka Jowvy Kumala, the firm’s corporate communications director, the mobile industry is potentially entering a period of consolidation and the coming era would be of merger with mobile phone Internet services, video, and digital products of others.
Not only prepaid and post paid services, even the mobile broadband base of Telkomsel is expanding rapidly with a striking 700% growth rate. In 2009, the number increased to 1.6 million from 200,000 subscribers in 2008.
New bonds issued by Virgin media to settle debt
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In a bid to refinance its main bank debt, €689 million worth of secured bonds will be issued by Virgin Media. Placement which has an eight-year maturity will be handled by JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.
£3.1 billion (€3.44b) debt piling by 2012 has been anticipated by the UK cable carrier, as part of its net debt, totaling more than £4 billion. Heavy investment by Virgin Media in its broadband network in a bid to compete with British Sky Broadcasting and BT lead to the accumulation of such a huge debt.
Multi million pound tranches of bonds has been gradually issued by the carrier, the latest in November for the equivalent of £715m.
T-Mobile and Orange in U.K merger to be reviewed by European Commission
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A proposal has been filed by Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom to the European commission for a joint venture in the U.K. The step is taken four months after the announcement of the deal.
The deal for 50- 50 partnership between France Telecom’s Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile was announced on September 8. With 37% market share, the joint venture will create the U.K.’s largest mobile operator ahead of current leaders Telefonica SA’s O2 with its 27% share and Vodafone PLC’s 25%.
The European Commission has time until February 15 to complete the investigation of the adverse effect of the deal on the market. The joint venture may start working by the middle of 2010.
T-Mobile UK, 3UK in discussion to sell Google’s Nexus One
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Confirming the discussion over the sale of Google’s first own-branded Android smartfone, Nexus One, in the UK, the spokesmen of T-Mobile and 3 UK informed that the companies will be making a formal announcement soon.
According to the Head of Internet services at 3UK, David Kerrigan, T-mobile is a great internet phone and the company expects plenty of people to import it to UK.
On Tuesday Google launched Nexus One, its new Android powered and HTC made handset. Nexus one will be available to consumers directly from Google unlike other Smartphone’s running the Internet giant’s mobile OS.
In US, SIM- free Nexus One is available for $529 and for $179 on T- Mobile USA. A CDMA version of the phone is also heading to Verizon Wireless, while Vodafone will offer the device in Europe from spring 2010. Vodafone is yet to announce the launch date however a spokesman of the company informed that it will offer the Nexus One to UK consumer first.
Meanwhile O2 UK stated that it had no plans to sell Nexus One. Despite Google was offering to ship Nexus One SIM-free internationally, O2 did not sound keen on the idea.
Nexus One smartphone unveiled by Google
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Nexus One, Google’s first mobile phone has been launched by the company along with its own web store to market the device. The online cost of the device will be USD 529 while a subsidized version for USD 179 will be offered by T-Mobile USA with a two-year service plan.
The CDMA version of the phone developed by Google will be soon offered by Verizon Wireless in the US. Besides, the handset will also be launched shortly in the UK and other European markets in 2010.
Qualcomm 1 GHz Snapdragon processor and a 3.7-inch Amoled touch screen are some of the exclusive features of HTC made Nexus One. Besides, this 130g, 11.5mm phone also features a 5 megapixel camera with auto zoom, GPS, accelerometer, light and proximity sensors, a 4GB memory card expandable to 32 GB, trackball navigation, HSPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Android 2.1 operating system runs the phone along with the full range of Google services installed, access to the Google Market, speech recognition for voice commands and integrated messaging and contacts list.
Online orders will be taken from the US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore initially and the company plans expand its web store to more countries in future.
HD Voice to be launched by Orange UK in 2010
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: HD Voice nationwide will be launched by Orange UK on its mobile network in 2010 exclusively for its customers. The technology will offer crystal clear sound quality as if callers are actually in the same room. The handset manufacturers have already started the work on the development of devices to be rolled out next year.
WB-AMR (Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate) speech codec is used by HD Voice. The codec has a wider speech bandwidth of 50-7000 Hz compared to the current narrowband speech codec of 300-3400 Hz, thus providing excellent audio quality. Enhanced sound quality utilizing the same network resources is also delivered by WB-AMR (Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate).
According to Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange UK, HD Voice will insert a new level of innovation into mobile phone calls and it will transform the mobile experience for customers in the UK.
Vodafone seeks to improve its network quality in UK
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The turnround of head of Vodafone’s under-performing UK business has been staked on the quality of its mobile network. According to a company official, Vodafone’s network can easily cope with the bandwidth-hungry smartphones, led by Apple’s iPhone.
However the largest mobile phone operator of UK, O2 has landed into serious trouble with its London network since the summer. Data applications running on smartphones has been periodically crushing the infrastructure.
In 2006, Vodafone conceded the rank of largest UK operator to Telef³nica’s O 2, which strengthened its grip on the market by signing a deal to be the exclusive British network for the popular iPhone in 2007.
However the company has announced that it would start selling iPhone from January 14, and its tariffs scurried consumer hopes of a price war. According to the head of Vodafone Guy Laurence, iPhone is not a price war but a quality of network war. During the downturn Vodafone has not been cutting capital spending unlike Telefonica.
3i sell stakes in Finnish telco
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: AltAssets, a private UK based equity firm stated that 3i has sold its 13% stake in Finnish telco DNA, with the holding having been snapped up by fellow Finnish telecoms groups Oulun Puhelin and Lannen Teletieto as well as the Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company.
In early 2007, the UK firm acquired a 25% holding in DNA for EUR140 million. However it dropped down to 13% the same year when DNA merged with a few local operators.
Expressing gratitude a Nordic team member Erkki Nikoskelainen said that the company was pleased to work with DNA. They were impressed by the speed in which DNA has established its market position both in mobile services and fixed line.
Vodafone to launch its iPhone on January 14, 2010
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A New Year gift awaits the people of UK as Vodafone is ready to launch its iPhone on January 14, 2010. 24-month contract will cost £30 per month to the customers. A flat fee of £59 for the 8-GB iPhone 3GS, £149 for the 16-GB 3GS, or £239 for the 32-GB 3GS will also has to be paid by the customers.
Besides, various tariffs plans are also offered including unlimited SMS and WiFi access, and 1 GB of data. A range of tariffs for small business customers are also offered by the operators.
The handset will be sold online through its network of 400 stores and through Apple retail outlets, and also through its indirect partners, which include Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U.
Telecom operators press for Brussel’s scrutiny
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In order to to scrutinise the proposed merger of their UK mobile phone businesses, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom are pressing for regulators in Brussels rather than London. The telecoms groups are
hopeful that European Commission’s inquiry would be shorter than one by UK competition authorities.
On the other hand, consumers feel that the proposed merger of France Telecom’s Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile UK, Britain’s third and fourth-largest mobile operators respectively will have a negative impact on the competition.
The two groups hope that Brussels will hold on to the case and the final say is of Brussels even if the UK authorities could ask the Commission to send the case to London. France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom are preparing the documents about the merger are under preparation and the companies may submit it to the Commission before Christmas, although it may not happen until January.
The length of the regulatory scrutiny will partly depend on whether France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom are willing to make concessions. Last month the two groups said they saw no need for major concessions, such as giving up valuable radio spectrum.
