Wireless Federation

Apple in talks to offer unlimited downloads of purchased music

On 03.05.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Apple Inc. is in talks with record companies to give iTunes music buyers easier access to their songs on multiple devices.

According to sources, Apple is negotiating with music companies, including Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp. and EMI Group Ltd. An agreement may be announced by midyear.

The arrangement would give users more flexibility in how they access purchased music. Apple and the record labels are eager to maintain demand for digital downloading in the middle of rising popularity for Internet services such as Pandora Media Inc., which don’t sell tracks and instead let users stream songs from the Web with whatever the device.

Sources added that a deal would provide iTunes customers with a permanent backup of music purchases if the originals are damaged or lost. The service would also enable downloads to iPad, iPod and iPhone devices linked to the same iTune’s account. The move would be a step closer to universal access to content centrally stored on the Internet.

SFR, France Telecom change price hike plans (France)

On 02.09.11, In Mobile, By Editor

France Telecom SA and Vivendi SA SFR have stated that they won’t raise mobile prices for their existing customers following a tax hike in the country, changing their initial plans in an effort to retain them.

According to SFR’s statement, it has decided not to raise mobile prices for existing clients as customers complained that they were confused about the planned price hikes announced earlier this year. The company has decided to clarify things by not implementing the project to raise prices for mobile clients.

France Telecom has also announced a U-turn, stating that it has to adapt to the new conditions on the French market. France Telecom clients that signed up for a contract before Feb. 1 will, hence, keep paying the same prices.

Amidst the recent hike in value added tax, operators face a higher risk of losing their clients as the customers in France have the option to change their service contracts and move to another operator during the four months following a tariff change while keeping their handsets.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: France • France Telecom SA • Mobile • mobile clients • SFR • value added tax • Vivendi SA

Orange, Bouygues, SFR set up online payment venture (France)

On 02.03.11, In Mobile, By Editor

France Telecom SA’s Orange unit, Bouygues Telecom, Vivendi SA’s SFR unit and Atos Origin SA have reportedly created a company to provide online payment services.

According to reports citing Buyster Chief Executive Officer Eric Gontier, the company, called Buyster, aims to compete with PayPal Inc., Google Inc. and Apple Inc. in providing payment systems in France for users of mobile phones, tablets and computers. The company will be operational from this summer.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Apple Inc • Atos Origin SA • Bouygues Telecom • Buyster • Chief Executive Officer • Eric Gontier • France • France Telecom SA • Google Inc • Mobile • Orange unit • PayPal Inc. • SFR • Vivendi SA

SFR, France Telecom begin Apple’s iPad sale

On 12.06.10, In Mobile, By Editor

France’s two largest telecom operators, France Telecom SA and Vivendi SA’s SFR, have started selling Apple Inc’s iPad in their stores, hoping for a sales boost during the crucial Christmas season.

Operators in France so far have not been able to sell the iPad directly in its stores. Clients had to go and buy the tablet in retail outlets such as Fnac and Darty and to then get a Wi-Fi or 3G subscription with one of the operators.

By reaching deals to subsidize the iPad, operators can offer the tablet at a lower price directly in its stores by committing customers to sign up for a two-year data plan.

According to SFR, it started selling the iPad in its online stores and will begin selling the tablet in its stores from Dec. 10.

According to the company’s spokesperson, SFR sells the iPad starting from US$238.29 if customers subscribe to the group’s new triple-play offer as well as an internet connection package. The iPad is available from US$370.75 with a two-year data plan for US$ 52.85 a month.

France Telecom, which had already announced last month that it would sell the iPad in France from early December from US$369.56, also stated that it started selling the iPad in stores on Friday.

According to France Telecom spokesman, sales are going well on the first day. However, some deliveries of the device were delayed due to the difficult weather conditions this week.

France Telecom’s Orange also started selling the iPad in the U.K. on Friday, where it is available from US$310.84 with a two-year data plan of US$39.05 a month for existing customers and US$42.17 per month for new customers.

According to Bouygues Telecom, it has not yet reached a deal to sell the iPad in its stores. The company won’t be selling the iPad by the end of the year but we continue to work with Apple to hopefully sell it in 2011.

Meanwhile, Bouygues Telecom is offering to reimburse customers US$ 198.69 if they sign up for one their iPad data packages.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Apple's iPad • Bouygues Telecom • France • France Telecom • Mobile • Orange • SFR • U.K • Vivendi SA • Wi-Fi

French court rejects claims against 3G mobile license

On 10.13.10, In Mobile, By Editor

As per the telecoms regulator Arcep, France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’Etat, has rejected all claims to cancel the attribution of the country’s fourth 3G mobile license to Iliad SA’s mobile subsidiary, Free.

Iliad’s competitors France Telecom, Vivendi SA’s SFR unit and the telecom division of Bouygues SA, Bouygues Telecom, had filed complaints with different courts to confront the way the French government attributed the license to Iliad.

The companies complained that the US$335.13 million price tag for the license is lower than the US$864.37 million they paid for licenses in 2001 and 2002.

The frequencies comprising the fourth 3G license represent around a third of the frequencies the three companies were previously allocated.

The court found that the US$335.13 million price for the license was neither under-valued nor biased in comparison with the prices paid in 2001 and 2002.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Arcep • Bouygues SA • Bouygues Telecom • Conseil d'Etat • France • France Telecom • Free • French court • Iliad SA • Mobile • Mobile License • SFR unit • Telecoms Regulator • Vivendi SA

3G network-sharing agreement signed by French mobile operators

On 02.25.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An agreement has been signed between three established mobile phone operators of France to share third-generation mobile network installations in order to extend 3G network coverage across the country.

Principles on how to share 3G mobile network deployments has been laid down in the framework agreement signed by France Telecom’s Orange, Vivendi SA’s SFR and Bouygues’ Bouygues Telecom on February 11.

According to French telecoms regulator Arcep, the agreement will help speed up the extension of the 3G network in France and will enable full nationwide coverage by the end of 2013. Terms for the inclusion of Iliad’s Free Mobile in the agreement will also be discussed by the three operators before May 31, 2010.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Arcep • Bouygues Telecom • Europe • Framework Agreement • France • France Telecom • Free Mobile • Iliad • operator • Orange • SFR • Vivendi • Vivendi SA

Zain receives many offers for African activities

On 01.28.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A number of offers have been received by Zain to buy its African assets, as well as other units. Plenty of opportunities are also seen by Zain, Kuwait’s largest mobile phone company, in Africa and the Middle East.

In July last year, France’s Vivendi SA, owner of phone companies SFR and Maroc Telecom said that due to the disagreement on the prices, the talk about buying the majority stake in the African assets of Zain has been halted.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Europe • France • Kuwait • Maroc Telecom • Middle East • Vivendi SA • Zain

Orange & SFR warned by Arcep to meet 3G obligations

On 12.24.09, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: France Telecom and Vivendi SA has been warned by French telecommunications regulator Arcep to respect their obligations in terms of third-generation mobile coverage. According to Arcep, the 3G coverage of both the mobile operators did not meet the commitments made at the time of tenders for 3G licenses.

By August 21, Orange France’s 3G network covered 84% of the population and SFR’s covered 74% and on December 1, Orange covered 87% of the population and SFR covered 81%. However, Orange France has been asked by the regulator to reach 91% of the population by the end of 2010 and 98% by the end of 2011.

SFR is required to improve its coverage to 84% of the population by June 30, 2010, to 88% by the end of 2010, to 98% by the end of 2011 and to 99.3% by the end of 2013.

Bouygues SA’s Bouygues Telecom, on the other hand has already met the target of 75% by the end of 2010 by covering 80% of the population as of December 1.

France fourth 3G license has been given to Internet operator Iliad SA and the operator is committed to covering 27% of the population in 2012, 75% in 2015 and 90% in 2018.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Arcep • Bouygues Telecom • Europe • France • France Telecom • Iliad SA • Orange France • SFR • Vivendi SA

Vivendi sues T-Mobile over Polish deal

On 10.29.06, In Mobile, By Editor

Vivendi SA said Tuesday it filed a complaint against T-Mobile in the United States, claiming the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary illegally appropriated its $2.5 billion investment in one of Poland’s leading mobile telecommunications operators.

The suit, which claims T-Mobile took over Vivendi’s investment in Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa through fraud and racketeering, was filed Monday in Washington state under the federal law known as RICO that was originally designed to fight organized crime.

Vivendi and Deutsche Telekom have been battling over the ownership of PTC for seven years, filing several lawsuits in Austria and Poland.

The latest suit names T-Mobile USA Inc., T-Mobile Deutschland Gmbh, Deutsche Telekom AG and Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, the largest shareholder and chairman of the supervisory board of the Polish company Elektrim SA.

Elektrim is Vivendi’s joint-venture partner for its investment in the Polish company.

“Vivendi considers that T-Mobile and Mr. Solorz’ Elektrim illegally appropriated its $2.5 billion investment in PTC and, at every turn, have defied court orders,” Vivendi Chairman Jean-Bernard Levy said in a statement. “Vivendi asks the court for a simple remedy: Give us back our money or our PTC shares.”

Elektrim spokeswoman Ewa Bojar declined to comment on the court filing.

“We aren’t going to comment on something we know nothing about,” she said in Warsaw. “We know about this from press reports so far, so I have to decline to comment right now.”

Deutsche Telekom spokesman Michael Lange said the company would not immediately comment on the suit.

“However, in the past, we have been confronted with absurd and nonsensical accusations by Vivendi that are far removed from reality,” he told The Associated Press.

He said the latest accusations were part of a “whole list of accusations that seem to have the objective of discrediting Deutsche Telekom as Vivendi is not able to convince the courts, either in Poland or Austria, as well as the relative courts of arbitration.”

Lange also questioned why Vivendi would file the lawsuit in Seattle, where T-Mobile USA is based.

“That Vivendi now believes it needs to shift the legal case regarding a Polish company to the United States â€” to the far west to Seattle where the successful T-Mobile USA has its headquarters â€” shows those responsible at Vivendi just want to be a nuisance.”

Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

Source- http://news.yahoo.com

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Austria • Oman • Poland • USA • Vivendi SA