Mobile Operator
Tougher market conditions are forcing operators in West and Central Africa to innovate
The telecoms market in West and Central Africa remains vibrant, but the message from last week’s West & Central Africa Com conference, organized in Abuja, Nigeria, by Informa Telecoms & Media, is that business is getting tougher for operators as a consequence of Read more »
Verizon Wireless netbook flags sky-high US mobile broadband prices
Verizon Wireless is the latest US mobile operator to move into mobile broadband netbooks, following AT&T Mobility, but its sky-high prices don’t match the penny-pinching ethos of the netbook segment. In fact the Verizon deal costs $583 more than a similar deal in the UK, and highlights that the US has some of the highest mobile broadband prices in the world. Read more »
Vodafone UK’s iPhone Web app is a great play for an early lead in the mobile application sector
Vodafone UK’s launch of a Web application for the iPhone has caused much speculation that the operator is about to sell the iPhone in the UK, robbing O2 UK of its exclusivity with the device. If this were true, if would most likely mean that O2 decided not to meet Apple’s terms for retaining exclusive rights to sell the device. Read more »
How far does 3 have to go to convince another firm to buy it? asks Paul Lambert
3 UK’s introduction of free voice calls is the operator’s latest move to disrupt the business models of the incumbent mobile operators. What sets this move apart from 3’s other, equally headline-grabbing moves is that it strikes at what is still the heart of mobile operators’ business case: voice revenues. Read more »
Zain and Essar infrastructure sharing deal in Kenya points to paradigm shift for emerging market operators
The deal signed between Zain Kenya and Essar Telecom Kenya is a move that indicates operators in developing markets are following the lead of those in Europe by striking agreements to produce opex and capex savings. Read more »
Flurry of European network outsourcing announcements suggests turning point
If the last week is anything to go by running a network has become an increasingly optional component of a European mobile operator’s business.
In the space of one week we’ve seen four managed services announcements from European mobile operators. Four swallows don’t make a summer but it’s the calibre of the operators making these decisions that is just as significant as the number of contracts. Read more »
US mobile industry still robust despite doom and gloom
Is the recession forcing US mobile customers to drop their cell-phone plans en masse, and are the remaining subscribers switching from contract plans to prepaid? That’s what some critics contend, but industry metrics reveal that the economy’s impact on US mobile-subscription trends has been far less dramatic. Read more »
Vodafone and Telefonica O2’s site sharing deal will go deeper over time
The deal announced by Vodafone and Telefonica O2 to share sites in European markets is just the first step to combining more elements of network infrastructure. The agreement announced today is less far-reaching than some had expected because it doesn’t cover actual equipment, such as base stations – that is, for now . . . Read more »
Operators go twelve rounds but new ‘version’ of data roaming caps is still a defeat
Operators fought long and hard with European legislators in the hope of defeating the imposition of caps to data roaming tariffs, but in the end the vote by members of the European Parliament to approve a modified version of proposed caps on wholesale mobile data and SMS tariffs for subscribers roaming in the EU, will still be seen as a defeat. Read more »
Vodafone and O2 network sharing move in the UK would reverberate around the industry
Vodafone and O2 are discussing a network-sharing deal in the UK that would, if it gets off the ground, have major ramifications not just for the UK but also for the entire industry.
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