Category Archives: o2
Vodafone ‘delaying 4G launch’ till September
Needs Apple to get on board with iPhone
UK operator Vodafone is reported to have put back rollout of its 4G services to September this year [2013], pending the launch of a compatible iPhone. The latest version of Apple’s flagship device reportedly doesn’t run on the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum that Vodafone spent £790 million on acquiring in the Ofcom auction recently, though it is compatible with the network of Britain’s only current 4G operator, EE. Continue reading
Ovum warns of emerging maturity for MNOs
Revenues from emerging markets to slow by 2017
Industry watcher, Ovum, has warned MNOs [Mobile Network operators] that emerging markets are good but its forecast for 2017 warns of ‘emerging maturity’. The company predicts that a concentration on BRIC [Brazil. Russia, India & China] whilst previously trendy might not be such a brilliant idea as emerging market growth slows. After all, low ARPU across emerging markets means that these markets generate less revenue and profit relative to their subscriber base. Steven Hartley, a telco strategy analyst, with Ovum warns Vodafone that it should worry about speeding up its palliative care for its European operations while it still has the Verizon Wireless cash cow. Continue reading
Vodafone’s full year revenues slump
No windfall dividend from Verizon payout, investors also told
Vodafone‘s shares are expected to take a dive when trading resumes this morning (21st May 2013) after full year results to the end of March showed group revenue to have slumped 4.2 per cent to £44.4 billion, with an accompanying decline in organic service revenue of 1.9 per cent. A further disappointment to investors is the news that the British operator is to keep in its own coffers the bulk of the £2.4 billion it recently achieved from its 45 per cent stake in America’s Verizon Wireless, rather than distribute it as a special dividend. Instead investors will get a final dividend of 6.92 pence per share. Continue reading
Britain’s Three hints at volte-face on 4G rollout
May now bring it forward rather than lose customers
Britain’s fourth biggest mobile operator, Three (3UK), may bring forward its introduction of 4G networks in a bid to counter the headstart gained by rivals. The carrier had originally intended to introduce 4G by the end of 2013, but now CEO, David Dyson, has revealed its customers could have access to the ultra-fast networks by this Summer if thought necessary. Continue reading
O2 gets the customers in, but revenues still head south
Subscriber growth is at expense of rivals
Britain’s second-biggest mobile operator, O2, says customer growth is accelerating as it prepares for the launch of new 4G services. The operator, owned by Spain’s Telefonica, added 251,000 extra contract customers in the three months to April 2013, the fastest first-quarter growth it has witnessed in four years. And although it lost almost as many pay-as-you-go users, it still registered growth of 46,000 more of them as its main rivals, Orange and T-Mobile owner EE, saw customers defect. Continue reading
Nokia 720 promo confuses GoMo
Nothing to do with speculative May 14th new launch, apparently
Here at GoMo News Towers we were puzzled to be suddenly on the end of a Nokia e-shot for its Lumia 720 model. We regard this as a simple upgrade to the Nokia Lumia 800 which we have on contract from Orange/EE. Nokia’s numbering conventions have always puzzled the consumer but in this case, the 720 is a newer model than the 800. So it can run Windows Phone 8 whereas the Lumia 800 can’t. It is stuck with Windows Phone 7.8. Continue reading
BT hunts new mobile partner in wake of £200m 4G splurge
Former subsidiary O2 could even be in the frame
BT‘s surprise entrance in Britain’s recent 4G auction may have had a hidden agenda, it has emerged, with news that it wants to team up with a mobile partner in a renewed drive into the sector. What’s more it may even join forces with O2, the operator it sold to Spain’s Telefónica 12 years ago. When Ofcom put the super-fast spectrum up for sale earlier this year [2013], BT paid almost £200 million for its chunk of the airwaves, bidding aggressively and ending up with more than it needed to boost just its Wi-fi coverage. Continue reading
Telefónica goes for fast handset upgrade with O2 Refresh
Rating: Abandon your handset before it becomes retro
It seems that Telefónica/O2 in the UK has finally woken up to the dangers of 24 month contracts which it needs to offer in order to remain competitive with its rivals. 24 months might make sense to accountants but it makes little sense to consumers. In terms of technology, an Internet year equates to three months. So by the time today’s contract subscribers have reached the end of their contract, their smartphones is seven years out of date. To counteract this, O2 has launched a new tariff aimed at enabling customers to get the latest phone whenever they want. It’s called O2 Refresh and GoMo News suspects that rival operators will be watching closely to try to evaluate the effectiveness of this new tariff. Continue reading
4G only very mildly interferes with TV in UK
Rating: Fewer problems than forecast with TV reception during 4G test
In the UK, at800 has just completed its first live test to help discover the extent to which Freeview (free digital TV) would be affected by 4G. In the UK, 4G mobile services operating at 800 MHz won’t be launched until later 2013. There are worries that cellular signals could clash with digital TV signals. at800 seems to have proved that these worries are largely unfounded. Continue reading
101: Direct operator Billing/Direct Carrier Billing
Sponsored by txtNation
Within the mobile and cellular worlds, there’s a growing appreciation of the true worth of DoB (Direct operator Billing) or Direct Carrier Billing as it is often referred to in North America. Essentially DoB is an easy way of making payments to purchase goods or service by placing the charge against a prepay or postpaid mobile phone’s bill. Mobile network operators (MNOs) and MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) alike see Direct operator Billing as a means to regain ground lost to the online majors such as Google (Play); Apple (iTunes); and Amazon in mobile commerce (m-commerce). This is especially true now that MNOs and MVNOs have come to accept that their own portals cannot compete effectively with the online giants. We suggest you contact a DoB specialist (such as txtNation) for a full list of territories in which DoB/DOC is offered. 1 Continue reading
Three growing faster than rivals despite absence of 4G
Also running at a profit for the first time
Britain’s fourth biggest mobile operator, Three (3UK), added 900,000 new customers in 2012 despite the threat of its rivals starting 4G networks months ahead of it. The carrier, owned by Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, says it now has 9.1 million subscribers and is growing at a faster rate that Vodafone, 02 and EE, even though they all have 19 million customers upwards. Continue reading
O2 revenues continue to spiral down
Britain’s second biggest mobile carrier O2 witnessed an 8.5 per cent drop in revenues in Q4 2012, despite signing up 282,000 new customers over the period – more than either of its main two rivals.
It’s the second successive drop for the carrier, owned by Spain’s Telefonica, which blamed the Q3 drop on customers delaying renewal of contracts ahead of Apple’s iPhone 5 launch. Continue reading
UK finally sells off its 4G/LTE spectrum
Rating: Sees BT re-entering mobile space ‘super-Wi-fi hotspot’
The UK comms regulator, Ofcom, has finally announced the results of its 4G spectrum auction. The four existing UK mobile operators have won new spectrum and we have seen a subsidiary of fixed-line incumbent, BT -Niche Spectrum Ventures win spectrum, too. This means that BT has re-entered the cellular market after – in our humble opinion, the disastrous decision to float off its mobile arm – O2. But BT many not be planning to become the UK’s fifth national mobile network operator, according to John Delaney a research director for consumer mobile with IDC. Anyway, EE and Vodafone have acquired spectrum in both 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands, while Hutchison (3UK) and Telefonica (O2) only got 800 MHz spectrum. Niche Spectrum Ventures (NSV) only has acquired spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band. Continue reading
EE to ‘be floated’ on London market by end of 2013
Britain’s largest mobile network EE is being primed for flotation at the end of this year in what could prove to be London’s biggest stock market listing in over two years.
If the IPO succeeds it would raise billions for owners Deutsche Telekom and France Telekom, both of whom are in need of a cash injection to invest in expanding their home networks, acquire new spectrum and pay off debts. Continue reading
Britain’s EE could be bought by US teleco giant
But there are plenty others in the frame too
Britain’s biggest mobile operator EE could be the target of a takeover by US telecom’s giant AT&T, it’s claimed, as a virtual guinea pig for its pricing strategies and new technologies. According to the Wall Street Journal, such a purchase would also help AT&T to expand activities beyond American shores as its home market becomes increasingly saturated. Continue reading
