Category Archives: Vodafone
UK ponders sales tax on foreign multinationals
High tech multinationals and others could be subjected to a new sales tax in Britain in a clampdown on how companies like Vodafone, Apple and Google avoid liabilities through complex offshore structures and other loopholes.
Later today [12th November 2012] several major US firms will be summmoned to appear before the government’s Public Accounts Committee amid growing concern over how they exploit weaknesses in the Inland Revenue system to minimise corporation tax. Continue reading
Ex-Vodafone man joins free mobile broadband Co – Samba
Rating: Dave Roberts to bring free mobile broadband to High Street
A former head of retail stores at Vodafone, Dave Roberts, has been tasked by Samba Mobile, the free mobile broadband, to take its proposition to the UK’s High Street. “For a start-up company to be able attract such a big hitter to the team is a fantastic achievement for the business, commented Samba Mobile’s CEO, Ben Atherton. Since its launch in July [2012], Samba already has 7,000 subscribers and has acquired investment close to £1 million. “Taking the Samba Mobile service to the High Street is the next step for the company and I’m hugely excited to be in a position to help make this transition happen,” new customer acquisition director, Dave Roberts, said. Continue reading
EE’s Swantee confirms personal intervention over iPhone 5
Rating: And the others had 1800 MHz spectrum too
So. To Battersea Power Station (in the UK’s capital) last night [November 1st 2012] to celebrate the official launch of EE‘s (formerly Everything Everywhere’s) 4G LTE network – 4GEE. Whilst the crowd was watching a pretty amazing 4D projection on the side of the old power station, GoMobile News found ourselves standing right next to Olaf Swantee, EE’s CEO. Not one to miss a chance, we swiftly asked Mr Swantee if he really had personally intervened in the development of the iPhone 5 to ensure it was compatible with the UK’s first 4G network which runs at 1800 MHz (Band 3). And, yes, he confirmed that he’d been to see “Tim” – as in Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. Swantee also confirmed another thing which GoMobile News had always suspected – that Vodafone and O2 have spare 1800 MHz spectrum which they could in theory use for 4G. Continue reading
UK mobile operators in plan to share networks during outages
Stop the fighting and start cooperating, suggests EE’s Olaf Swantee
Talks are in the pipeline between Britain’s four mobile operators which could see them share each others’ networks during blackouts, EE’s boss Olaf Swantee has revealed. EE, which owns Orange and T-Mobile and whose new 4G network launches tomorrow [30th October 2012], is Britain’s biggest network provider with 27 million customers and has most to lose in the event of an outage. Earlier this month rival operator O2 faced a storm of criticism when its network went down for the second time in six months, hitting 2.2 million customers. Other network providers such as Vodafone have suffered similar problems in the past, with matters not helped by the growth of smartphones and the corresponding rise of network-hungry apps. Continue reading
Vodafone hits back at EE over UK 4G
Rating: 800 MHz is better for indoor coverage, so there
Just days before EE‘s 4G LTE network is set to go commercial in the UK, Vodafone has responded with a ’4G phone promise’. It has decided to brand its version of LTE as ‘ultra-fast Vodafone 4G’ and is concentrating on ramping up the superior indoor coverage that the 800 MHz spectrum can provide. EE’s 4G network is, of course, based on re-used 1800 MHz spectrum. Currently the 4G phone promise is restricted to just three handsets but considering one is the iPhone 5 and another is the Samsung Galaxy SIII, it has two of the best selling smartphones covered. Probably as a dig at EE, Vodafone is describing its HSPA+ and HSPA-DC based offerings as ‘superfast 3G+’ as opposed to EE’s superfast 4GEE. Vodafone is also ramping up the benefits of its acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide’s UK fibre based backbone network. Continue reading
EE chief’s uphill task to persuade phone makers over Britain’s 4G
Network goes live next week – but only just
Smartphone users benefiting from EE‘s new 4G network in Britain will have the personal intervention of the firm’s CEO to thank, it’s been revealed. With just a week to go before EE’s super-fast network is officially launched, City AM reports how Olaf Swantee – boss of EE and its subsidiary brands Orange and T-Mobile – spent months persuading phone manufacturers to design devices that would run on the operator’s 1800 MHz frequency. The network will also be the only 4G network to work with Apple’s best-selling iPhone 5. Continue reading
Vodafone sneaks in another UK price rise ahead of regulation
Millions of Vodafone UK customers are to be hit with another “sneak” price hike in their bills at the start of next month, despite moves by regulator Ofcom to outlaw such contracts.
The operator, which earlier this year reported annual profits of £9.5 billion, is increasing monthly bills by up to 2.4 per cent on 1st November 2012, adding 59p per month to the average customer bill. It is estimated it will raise tens of millions of pounds for the company and follows similar rises imposed by Orange, T-Mobile and Three. Continue reading
UK operators agree truce on 4G in early hours
Kick out TV, bring in 4G
UK mobile operators O2 and Vodafone could get a shot at 4G as early as May next year [2012] if talks tonight [2nd October 2012] with regulator Ofcom see a rush clearance of the airwaves. Ofcom is said to be working with Arqiva, the company largely responsible for the Britain’s TV transmissions, to free up spectrum fast so that delays over the introduction of 4G are minimised. It follows threats by O2 and Vodafone to sue over an earlier decision by the regulator to let EE, the parent company of T-Mobile and Orange, use existing spectrum for 4G ahead of its rivals. Continue reading
iPhone 5 is key to UK’s 4G discussions
3.5G Britain may move superfast to 4G
As we have already reported here, the UK mobile network operators are due to meet Maria Miller, the UK’s new Culture sector – along with Ed Richards from Ofcom (the UK’s telecoms watchdog) to discuss the mess that is Britain’s 4G roll-out. What most observers have failed to take into account will be the pivotal role played by Apple’s infamous smartphone – the iPhone 5. As far as GoMobile News can work out, the version of the iPhone 5 being sold in the UK offers support for only three 4G bands. Hence, there’s very little point in letting operators run 4G services at other frequencies, if they can’t sell the market’s leading smartphone. Continue reading
Crunch day tomorrow for Britain’s 4G
Government’s last roll of the dice to avoid court action
Last ditch attempts to broker a ceasefire over Britain’s 4G roll-out take place tomorrow [2nd October 2012] when network operators meet to avert litigation. Though the auction of 4G airwaves isn’t due to take place until the end of the year [2012], these now could be brought forward by the government if the warring parties agree to support Ofcom proposals. Continue reading
Virgin Media in secret talks to get early 4G
Richard Branson’s Virgin Media is in secret talks with EE to become Britain’s second mobile operator to offer 4G mobile internet, it’s claimed.
The company already runs a “virtual” mobile network using EE infrastructure and is now said to be in discussion to offer its own 4G services, giving it a jump start over rivals. Continue reading
Vodafone in ‘climb down’ over disputed India tax bill
Britain’s Vodafone could be bracing itself to pay more than £1 billion to the Indian government despite resisting legal action so far.
The world’s second-largest mobile-phone operator after China Mobile has been locked in a tax feud with India over its 2007 acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s operations there.
The row relates to how Vodafone avoided a huge tax bill by concluding its $10.7 billion transaction offshore, using the company’s Dutch subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings to buy a Cayman Islands firm controlled by Hong Kong-based Hutchison. Continue reading
Britain’s 4G roll-out looks set for the courts
A simmering row over the roll-out of 4G in Britain looks set to blow up in the government’s face, despite the brokering of a temporary peace deal with mobile operators.
Next Friday [21st September 2012] Apple’s much-awaited iPhone 5 is launched in the UK but only EE, the new 4G brand from Everything Everywhere, will be able to offer it to customers. Continue reading
Discount war looms as iPhone 5 debuts
Today’s iPhone 5 launch could push European carriers into a profit-bruising war by forcing them to offer customer discounts on Apple’s latest smartphone, analysts believe.
with the new iPhone expected to sell 10 million units this month alone, the mobile industry is geared for a mass pre-Christmas rush. But individual operators are also faced with the dilemma of whether to subsidise the new handsets or watch as rivals, who are willing, steal business from them. Continue reading
Boris J likens new EE logo to pollen count
Rating: Perils of celebrity endorsements
Mayor of London [England], Boris Johnson, had the assembled hacks at the Press launch of the Everything Everywhere rebranding launch in fits of laughter. Everything Everywhere had just boasted that its new name and logo, EE, was based on seeing the whole world as a number of connected molecules. Unfortunately, the UK largest mobile network operator with some 27 million customers had picked a loose cannon in the shape of maverick politician, Johnson, to provide a celebrity endorsement. Boris promptly repaid the favour by referring to the logo as being based on the pollen count. There’s a moral in here, somewhere. Continue reading
