Category: BSS/OSS/Transformation

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T-Mobile increases UK prepay prices

T-Mobile UK will be increasing charges for its prepaid customers from the end of July, the company revealed this week. ‘Everyone’ call prices for Pay As You Go users will increase from 12p to 15p per minute from the end of July. While calls on the ‘Mates Rates’ package are increasing from 5p to 8p […]

Virgin loses more top brass

The exodus of top brass from telecoms companies continues, with Virgin Mobile announcing a double whammy on Thursday. Alan Gow, managing director of Virgin Mobile and Joe Steel, Virgin Mobile’s deputy managing director and commercial director, have both announced plans to step down. Gow, who will leave Virgin later this year, has only been in […]

Voda responds to inefficiency claims

UK mobile operator Vodafone has responded to the proposed shake up of its capital structure by shareholder activist group Efficient Capital Structures (ECS). Not surprisingly, the operator disagrees strongly with the proposals. ECS suggested, in a letter sent Thursday, that the carrier suffers from an “inefficient capital structure”. Further to that, ECS requested that Voda […]

Title: Vodafone attacked over “inefficient capital”

UK operator Vodafone has been sent a list of four resolutions outlining a proposed shake up of its capital structure. The carrier is required to put the resolutions to its shareholders at its forthcoming AGM on July 24. A letter sent to all Vodafone shareholders by investment activist group, Efficient Capital Structures (ECS), states that […]

Amp’d files for bankruptcy protection

US MVNO Amp’d Mobile filed for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy late on Friday. The company said in a statement, that as a result of its rapid growth, the back end infrastructure was unable to keep up with customer demand. As a result, the company is moving to restructure the business. The company said it […]

Idea hot on Spice merger

Indian operator Idea Cellular is reportedly close to striking a buyout of smaller rival Spice Telecom, valuing the firm at around $1bn. Spice is 51 per cent owned by industrialist B K Modi, with Telecom Malaysia holding the remaining 49 per cent. Idea is owned by the Aditya Birla Group.Idea had around 14.5 million subscribers […]

Vodafone to be hit by roaming cuts

Vodafone warned on Tuesday that it expects to take a revenue hit of between £200m and £250m during the financial year 2007-2008, as a result of regulator imposed caps on roaming charges. The warning comes as Vodafone continues to struggle in the more mature markets of Europe. On Tuesday, the operator reported that revenues for […]

Alltel bought for $27.5bn

US cellco Alltel said late Sunday that it has signed an agreement to be acquired by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and the Texas Pacific Group for $27.5bn in cash. Under the agreement, the private equity firms will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Alltel for $71.50 per share, representing a 23 per cent […]

Virgin fancies Indian summer

The big rumour doing the rounds on Friday is that Virgin Mobile is set to enter the burgeoning Indian mobile market via a 50-50 partnership with local operator, Tata TeleServices. Tata is India’s sixth largest mobile operator with 12 million subscribers at the end of April. The operator runs a CDMA network, a technology Virgin […]

Orange segments usage stats

Orange is set to take a bold step Tuesday with the launch of its consumer digital media usage index, an ongoing report showing exactly how UK customers use Orange services and media. The initial index is primarily focused on mobile services including messaging, games, music, TV and the mobile internet but going forward it will […]

Altimo to Cukurova: We don’t want your money

Russian investor Altimo fired the latest broadside in its battle to control Turkish operator Turkcell on Thursday, when it turned down an offer from owners Cukurova to pay off a $1.3bn loan. To recap, back in the autumn of 2005, Cukurova, a diversified Turkish industrial group in financial trouble, was keen to sell its stake […]

O2 Germany may cut 1,000 jobs

UK-based mobile operator O2 may cut up to 1,000 jobs, or 20 per cent of its staff base, at its German business, according to reports on Tuesday. According to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland, O2, which was bought up by Spanish carrier Telefonica last year, will make the cuts to reduce personnel costs. […]

3 UK head steps down

Announcing the departure of a CEO is turning into something of a bandwagon and 3 UK became the latest company to jump on it on Thursday. The UK 3G operator said that Bob Fuller is to retire as he turns 60 at the end of June. Fuller has been with 3 UK for four years, […]

Virgin Mobile USA seeks $100m floatation

Virgin Mobile USA, Richard Branson’s US MVNO, said Tuesday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Initial public Offering (IPO). The company aims to raise as much as $100m from the floatation. Virgin has not yet revealed the number of shares to be offered or the price […]

Offer made for Maxis

Malaysian mobile operator Maxis Communications requested a trading suspension on Monday after the controlling shareholder offered to buy the rest of the company. Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd (UTSB), which owns 47 per cent of Maxis, is expected to make the offer before Thursday, May 3. Ananda Krishnan, one of Malaysia’s richest men, is thought to […]

Telefonica wins Telecom Italia stake

Spanish carrier Telefonica became the largest shareholder in Telecom Italia over the weekend, as part of a Eur2.3bn buyout of Italian tyre company Pirelli. On Sunday, Pirelli and Edizione (Benetton Group) agreed to sell their stakes in Olimpia, the principal shareholder in Telecom Italia, to a consortium made up of Telefonica, insurance company Generali, investment […]

Orange intros prepay overdraft

Orange UK on Monday launched a price plan that will allow prepay users to go overdrawn on their account in case they run out of credit at an inconvenient moment. The Reserve Tank is a £2.50 overdraft facility that kicks in when a user’s credit has expired as was announced as the operator rehashed its […]

France Telecom not interested in Italy

France Telecom has pulled out of the running for a stake in Italian carrier Telecom Italia after recording better than expected revenues for the first quarter of the year. The French telco had initially contacted Italian banks and insurers in an attempt to create a consortium that is acceptable to the Italian government, as ministers […]

Europe’s biggest circle Telecom Italia

Two of Europe’s biggest telecoms firms are understood to be circling Telecom Italia (TI) in a bid to counteroffer AT&T/America Movile’s £2bn play for the Italian incumbent. France Telecom and Spanish operator, Telefonica, have contacted Italian banks and insurers in an attempt to create a consortium that is acceptable to the Italian government, according to […]

Google and LG team up

Internet search giant, Google said Wednesday that it has inked a deal with Korean electronics firm, LG Electronics, to put its software on LG’s mobile phones. The move comes days after Yahoo announced its ‘oneSearch’ service – widely hailed by analysts and industry observers as a significant leap over Google’s existing mobile technology. LG, maker […]