Category Archives: Vodafone
Now Nokia falls foul of India’s taxman as it’s slapped with surprise £340m bill
Nokia looks set to be the latest phone company to fall foul of India’s tax authorities amid reports it’s being asked to cough up £340 million to cover past “irregularities.”
The Finnish manufacturer, whose shares closed more than 4 per cent lower in New York last night, is already up against the ropes as it struggles to regain market share with its Lumia handsets running Windows Phone 8. Continue reading
Vodafone’s share price boosted by US partner’s remarks
Sale of its stake in joint venture looking more feasible
Vodafone’s share price continued its steady ascent this morning [8th January 2013], rising nearly 3 per cent in early trading, following news that its US partner Verizon might want to buy out the UK operator’s stake. Verizon Wireless, 45 per cent owned by Vodafone, has proved to be something of a cash cow for both the UK mobile firm and Verizon’s own parent company Verizon Communications, paying out $18.5 billion in dividends in 2012. The payout provided Vodafone with a welcome boost to its finances, having been hit by falling demand across Europe which accounts for around three quarters of its revenue. Continue reading
India’s tax authorities slap Vodafone with new £1.6bn demand
Ink not even dry on official report examining if charge is legal
Vodafone’s protracted battle with the Indian government over alleged corruption and tax evasion has come to the boil again with a new, £1.6 billon bill sent to the British operator. In the latest episode of a six-year long row with India’s administration, the FTSE 100 operator has been formally asked to pay capital gains tax on its $11.1 billion acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s 67 per cent stake in what is now known as Vodafone India. This time last year India’s Supreme Court ruled in Vodafone’s favour, agreeing that tax was not due on the 2007 transaction as it took place between two overseas companies – Vodafone’s Dutch subsidiary, on the one hand, and Hutchison’s Cayman registered offshoot on the other. Continue reading
Ofcom poised to outlaw mid-term price hikes on mobile contracts
Customers will also get right to cancel without penalty charge
Mid-contract price hikes for millions of UK mobile users will become a thing of the past under plans by the country’s regulator Ofcom to outlaw the practice. At present customers on contracts involving monthly billing can only cancel if price rises cause “material detriment”, a legally untested term, otherwise they are invariably obliged to continue paying until the deal ends or face an exit penalty. Continue reading
Tizen devices in pipeline for 2013, affirms Samsung
Korean giant Samsung has confirmed plans to release multiple phones running on its new Tizen platform in 2013, in a counter to Google’s acquisition of Motorola last year and in a bid to ease its dependence of the search giant’s Android OS.
Tizen, developed in conjunction with Intel, is Linux based like Android and as such is expected to make it easier for developers to port their apps across.
Also, as Android is developed from Sun Microsystem’s Java – now owned by Oracle – Samsung now has the wind behind of it of a recent US court ruling that there was nothing unlawful about Google copying large amounts of Linux API material to build an open programming environment for its Android apps community Continue reading
Vodafone to offer used smartphones in bid to encourage mobile data usage
Psst – wanna buy a handset? Only one old lady owner…
Britain’s second largest mobile operator, Vodafone, is to offer consumers secondhand smartphones in an unprecedented move to attract first time buyers. More than half of Brits have smartphones, one of the world’s highest rates, but Vodafone believes that by offering ‘refurbished’ phones it can tap into a yet unserved market.
It’s Nearly New scheme is being aimed at pay-as-you-go customers, allowing them to choose a used but securely wiped handset at any of the operator’s stores, though those already on contract will also be able to sign up. Continue reading
Nokia Lumia phones discounted in US as critical Q4 results loom
Phones offered cheap just a month after launch
Nokia‘s Lumia WP8 smartphones were being sold at a discount in the USA immediately after Xmas, it has emerged, placing a question over whether the Finnish manufacturer’s Q4 results due to be released later this month [January 2013] needed a last minute bolster. The results, due out on January 24th, should show if the strategy by Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop to adopt Microsoft’s WP8 operating system is paying off, all the more so as the quarterly earnings report will cover the crucial run-up to Xmas. Continue reading
Vodafone’s shares slip as 2012 fades
Funds earmarked for £1.5bn share buy-back nearly depleted
Shares in British mobile operator, Vodafone, continued their steady decline on the London Stock Exchange today [31st December 2012], despite the company’s aggressive buy back of stock which has seen it purchase 84 million at a cost of £1.33 billion this month alone.
With the market open for just half a day’s trading, Vodafone’s share price slipped to around 154 pence, about half a per cent down and less than the 155.6 pence it paid to buy back nine million of its shares just a trading day earlier. The shares closed also less than new North and Central European CEO Philipp Humm paid a week previously. Continue reading
Tizen mobile OS 101: Understanding Tizen’s origins
Rating: Yet another mobile OS – this one backed by Samsung and intel
Whilst Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS continue to dominate the mobile OS scene, there are still a number of alternatives vying for attention in the mobile sector. One of these is Tizen which – like Google’s Chrome and H-P’s webOS all use Webkit and a Linux kernel. By contrast, Mozilla’s Firefox (see here) has its own runtime environment in terms of Geko not Webkit. Where has Tizen sprung from? Well it’s really a joint effort by Intel and Samsung which spearhead the Technical Steering Group (TSG) which leads the Tizen Project. To give Tizen a bit of marketing clout there is also a Tizen Association which can be found here. Continue reading
Vodafone India: the heat is on as government calls for new spectrum auctions
Bandwidth hikes, corruption probe, tax demands – where will it all end?
Vodafone’s Indian subsidiary has hit out at plans by the federal government to auction telecom bandwidth when key licences expire in 2014 as “completely unjustified on economic, commercial and competitive grounds.” Under new government policy firms like Vodafone and top mobile operator Bharti Airtel won’t be reallocated their existing airwaves when their licenses come up for renewal but will have to acquire airwaves through government auctions instead. The changes will impact some of the most lucrative areas for mobile operators such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Continue reading
Vodafone snared in Indian corruption probe
Vodafone’s Indian offshoot has been caught up in a corruption web amid claims that the country’s spectrum was awarded illegally under a former, Hindu-led government.
Also caught up in the police probe is India’s top mobile phone firm Bharti Airtel, headed by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, in accusations that go back to 2002. Continue reading
Guest Post: What to expect in the global telecoms industry for 2013
by Stefan Zehle, CEO with Coleago Consulting
In 2012, the main buzzword in the global telecoms industry has been 4G. Over the last few months, we have witnessed some interesting spectrum auctions taking place around the world. As this has developed, carriers, operators, service providers, businesses and consumers have been busy educating themselves about the benefits of what it is and what it will mean for them such as faster connectivity speeds and reliability. At this time of year it customary to predict what to expect in the mobile space in 2013. I expect to see an increased emphasis on the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS); the beginning of the end to roaming charges and even the end of geography being a factor for mobile users. Continue reading
Dutch operator KPN’s shares plunge after reigning in dividends
All eyes now on Vodafone to see how cost of expansion impacts pay-outs
News that Dutch telecoms group KPN is scrapping its final dividend this year and reducing 2013 pay-outs sent its share price plummeting 13 per cent on early trading in Amsterdam today [17th December 2012] in what may prove an omen for rival UK operator Vodafone. KPN is diverting dividend payments into expanding its network, having only last week spent €1.35 billion on acquiring new spectrum in the Netherlands in a government auction. But today the operator, nearly a third of which is owned by Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim, was paying the price for its dividend cuts as investors headed for the hills, wiping millions off the company’s value. Continue reading
Vodafone Netherlands splashes the cash on 4G spectrum
Meanwhile UK parent embarks on £1.5bn share buy-back programme
Vodafone’s Dutch offshoot has splashed out €1.4 billion on licensing new spectrum to underpin its 4G ambitions across the region. Valid for 17 years, Vodafone Netherlands has acquired six tranches of spectrum in the 800, 900 and 1800 MHz bands. Like the UK, the Netherlands has lagged behind in 4G roll-out, despite the fact that more than half of the country’s mobile users have smartphones. Up until now it has also had only three mobile operators with their own networks – KPN, T-Mobile and Vodafone – who in turn allow other operators to use their airwaves. But with the trio’s own licenses due to end in February 2013, the Dutch mobile market is expected to go into overdrive as 4G spectrum becomes widely available. Continue reading
