Monday mobile operator round-up

Interesting moves in the world of mobile operators today. The deadline for the Bharti-MTN deal looms - will they get it together in time? Thailand wants to launch 3G networks, but legal issues with over-seas investment are causing problems. War and mobile operators have collided in a weird way on the West Bank… and more.

Thailand soon to launch 3G - if legal obstacles can be overcome

The Thai telecoms regulator is really pushing to kick off its 3G infrastructure. The plan is to put two 3G licenses up for bid during December of this year, and issue the licenses within two weeks. However, legal pressures could prove an obstacle for foreign investors. Thai law states that foreign companies may not own more than 49% of the shares in a That firm. Indigenous pressure groups could also demand that Thai courts perform lengthy investigations into the qualifications of any foreign company seeking to invest.

Deadline looms on Bharti-MTN deal. Any end in sight?

The proposed deal between Indian operator Bharti Telecom and African operator MTN has been dragging on for quite some time now. The next deadline comes up this Wednesday, the end of the month. The question remains if this one will sail past as well - which would mark the third time the companies should have finalised the deal. The deal would see both companies trading cash and stock in return for cash and stock in the other company. But so far they haven’t been able to agree on how much of each they will trade. Current estimates are that Bharti wants to pay $24 billion in return for 49% of MTN, while MTN will pay $10 billion in return for 33% of Bharti. The resulting operator would have 200 million customers between India and Africa.

Where do war crimes and mobile operators collide? The West Bank

Here’s a strange one. It is being reported by Tel Aviv newspaper, Ha’aretz Daily, that Israel is using a mobile operator license as a weapon to force the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to withdraw an appeal against Israeli armed forces at the International Criminal Court.

The PNA asked for the International Criminal Court to examine actions taken by Israeli forces during the three-week offensive in the Gaza strip earlier this year. Palestinian mobile operator, Wataniya Palestine, has been waiting for some time now for Israel to issue a license for operations in the West Bank - and $500 million has been invested in anticipation of the license. According to Ha’aretz Daily, Israel is has demanded that the appeal to the International Criminal Court be withdrawn before the license will be issued.

SK Telecom sells its Unicom stake… back to Unicom

Korean operator SK Telecom has decided to sell its 3.8% share hold in China Unicom back to the Chinese company for $1.3 billion, and give up its place on the Board of Directors. The shares were bought for $1 billion back in 2006. This could lead to some interesting moves in the home-market - SK Telecom initially began investing abroad to escape the saturated South Korean mobile market. Selling the Unicom shares is being seen in some sectors as a retreat from poor overseas performance.

New mobile operator pays it’s own subscribers to handle customer care

Here’s a bizarre new model for customer care - get your customers to do it. A new MVNO is launching in the UK before Christmas, owned by O2. The operator is called Giffgaff (based on a Scottish expression meaning “you give me something, I give you something back”). The operator is planned to be based on a customer-supported model. Instead of calling customer support, a subscriber goes to their fellow Giffgaff subscribers for help with any problems. In return for helping your fellows, you get free minutes and texts. The operator explains it like this:

•    One simple tariff for voice, text and data.
•    We’re online only, which saves us money, which means we can offer you brilliant prices.
•    Your calls become cheaper the more you get involved.
•    There’s no long-term contracts and you can use any existing ‘unlocked’ handset.
•    The option to donate your rebate to a charity or cause you care about.
•    Play a role in deciding what services we offer.