Following confirmation form both Hutchison Whampoa and Telefónica the two indeed are in official talks over the sale of Telefónica’s O2 to 3’s owner Hutchison, industry analysts have been quick to offer their views on how this proposed bid would affect the UK mobile market if approved. It seems it is a thorny issue.
The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), an advisory organisation to the UK government, has announced that with EE, Virgin Media and Vodafone as the latest to join, all UK ISPs have now signed up to its Open Internet Code.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and Spain’s Telefónica are in talks over a possible merger of their respective UK subsidiaries Three and O2, according to a report. Following BT’s preliminary talks with owners of EE, Orange and Deutsche Telekom (DT), as well as Telefónica over O2, it was reported Hutchison was also preparing to bid for one of the two UK operators.
American multiplay operator AT&T has confirmed it has undertaken a trial of LTE broadcast technology in Texas, USA. The trial focussed on delivering live digital content in stadia to attendees of an American football match, which took place earlier this week.
EE has announced its 4G customer base has reached 7.7 million, up from 5.7 million since the start of last year. The UK operator claimed this sets a new European record for 4G growth.
Huawei, EE and Qualcomm have partnered for an LTE category 9 interoperability trial, claiming to have achieved download speeds of up to 410Mbps. The partners said this represents a significant step forward in the industry’s attempt to improve download speeds and reliability.
EE has acquired UK mobile airtime distributor Mainline Digital Communications. The two have been partnering for several years in the business sector, and EE already had a 26% share in the company.
The UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has announced it has reached what it calls a “landmark” agreement with operators EE, O2, Vodafone and Three on how to tackle coverage issues in rural Britain. However, the agreement seems a far-cry from the original tough talk from the Culture Secretary Savid Javid.
Following reports last week, UK regulator Ofcom has confirmed the appointment of Sharon White as its new Chief Executive. Joining from the HM Treasury, where she is Second Permanent Secretary, White will officially take the reins in March next year.
Former UK telco monopoly BT has announced it has chosen the UK’s biggest mobile operator – EE – for exclusive acquisition talks, having previously conceded it was looking at O2 or EE. If the deal goes through BT would occupy a dominant position in the UK telco market as it already owns substantial fixed-line assets as well as a significant chuck of exclusive content and some 4G spectrum of its own.
Ofcom has published a report on customer satisfaction levels in mobile, broadband, pay TV and landline services. Compared to previous years, the report showed steady level of satisfaction in mobile with O2 topping the table in the mobile service provider stakes. Meanwhile RootMetrics put EE on top in London.
The Chief Executive of Orange, Stephane Richard, has dropped a hint about the ongoing discussions with BT over a possible acquisition of EE, allegedly stating that he’s expecting a decision from the British telco in the next few weeks.
EE has announced it is to launch a micro network to connect some of UK’s rural communities that currently don’t have a reliable mobile or high speed broadband connection. The telco said it has successfully trialled the connected antenna technology in a Cumbrian village, and will connect 1,500 communities by the end of 2017.
Vodafone Greece has moved closer to becoming a multiplay service provider by acquiring 72.7% of Hellas Online (HOL), the country’s second largest broadband and fixed-line services provider. The mobile operator acquired Hellas Online for a total cash sum of €72.7m (£57.56m).
Following the news earlier this week about BT’s preliminary acquisition talks with EE and O2, it has been reported Hutchison Whampoa is preparing to make an offer of its own for one of the mobile operators.
Deutsche Telekom and Orange, the joint shareholders of EE, have confirmed initial discussions with BT over a possible sale of the UK mobile operator. In a statement the German and French giants said they are exploring the possibility as part of their regular market assessment to evaluate different strategic options.
Network testing and consultancy firm P3 has published a UK mobile benchmarking report ranking EE, aided by its strong data service, first. Three came second, although it won in the voice category. O2 was marginally ahead of last-placed Vodafone.
UK telco giant BT has confirmed it is in discussions to acquire O2, following reports that the CEO of Telefónica has indicated he is open to some kind of strategic alliance with BT in the UK, which could include selling off O2 UK in return for a stake in BT.
EE, the UK joint venture between T-Mobile and Orange, has announced the launch of its connected car solution based on 4G technology. Buzzard 2 is a device which EE claims will bring high-speed connectivity to enable in-car entertainment and navigation, without having an in-built solution. The Buzzard 2 plugs directly into the car’s 12 volt […]
Vodafone has announced three initiatives encouraging more data consumption by UK and Australian users. The telco is announcing free subscriptions to BSkyB’s movie streaming service NOW TV for users in the UK, and free Spotify Premium accounts for Australian customers.
The http://t.co/pQnAzLZ204 Daily is out! http://t.co/TjMjdobAJU Stories via @jobstelecoms
31 January 2015 @ 12:29:20 UTC
Alcatel-Lucent, #Vodafone #Spain claim 400Gbps over existing fibre http://t.co/zRmd4DREjp #networks #operator
30 January 2015 @ 16:51:37 UTC
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