Informa

Brexit gets real with 22% Azure price hike in UK

While most international vendors were keen to state Brexit would not impact the UK negatively in the aftermath of the referendum, it would appear Microsoft has given up treading lightly around the situation.

RCS – Simplify, select, succeed

Keith Mumford, VP of Technology at Kineto Wireless, reflects on Informa’s Rich Communications 2013 conference. Maybe, he suggests, the best way forward with RCS is to pick and choose from the functions to deliver targeted services, instead of trying to turn it into an industry juggernaut.

australia-asiapac-connect

Australian Minister asks entire NBN board to tender resignations

Australian communications minister Malcolm Turnbull has asked the entire board of the country’s national broadband network (NBN) project to tender in their resignations. Australia’s NBN is a national wholesale network currently being rolled out across the country, but has been hit by multiple delays for various reasons.

Telefónica to pay €5bn for KPN’s E-Plus in Germany

Dutch incumbent KPN has confirmed that it is to sell its German mobile operation, E-Plus, to Spain’s Telefónica, which operates as O2 in the German market. Telefónica will pay €5bn in cash to KPN, which will also hold a 17.6 per cent stake in Telefónica Deutschland once the deal, subject to regulatory approval, has been completed.

Firefox handsets go on sale

Open source software developer Mozilla has announced that its official Firefox devices are now on sale in stores in Spain. Telefonica is selling the low-cost handsets built on Open Web Technologies the handsets, in Madrid.

App payments crucial for operators as OTT services erode revenues

Operators are set to see their share of mobile content and commerce revenue drop from 44 per cent in 2011 to 31 per cent in 2016 globally, according to the latest forecasts from Informa Telecoms & Media. This is due to services such as mobile messaging, music, TV and video streaming, location-based services and social-networking increasingly going over-the-top in the next five years.

Telefónica sells China Unicom stake

Telefónica has announced that it has sold a 4.56 per cent stake in China Unicom for HK$10,963.3 ($1.413bn). The deal leaves the Spanish operator group with a 5.01 stake in the Chinese firm.

Wifi hotspots set to more than triple by 2015

Global public wifi hotspot numbers are set to grow from 1.3 million in 2011, to 5.8 million by 2015, marking a 350 per cent increase, according to research published by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), and compiled by Informa. The findings from the WBA, which is the industry association focused on driving next generation wifi, also revealed that more than half – 58 per cent – of operators believe wifi hotspots are either “very important” or “crucial” to their customers’ experience, in order to offload busy mobile broadband networks and to provide a value-added services.

Gadget makers to find refuge in smartphone sales

Despite the global slowdown in consumer spending, handset vendors are expected to reap the benefits of growth in the smartphone segment, with sales of high end handsets on an upward curve over the next five years.