Tag Archives: o2
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
Posted in 4G, Financial, Vodafone, mobile news, o2, telefonica
Tagged BT, internet tv, o2, telefonica
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Easytrip teams up with O2 for first mobile toll payments solution
Press release
November 14th 2012. Easytrip has announced the launch of its new Charge2Mobile toll payment service, in partnership with O2. The first of its kind, the service will provide a more convenient channel for paying tolls on the M50 for car drivers who currently pay by cash. Available immediately to O2 customers in the Republic of Ireland, Easytrip hopes to rollout its Charge2Mobile tolls offering across other networks over the coming months and to add to its support team for this new service. 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
Posted in Everything Everywhere, Vodafone, mobile news, o2, telefonica
Tagged deutsche telekom, EE, o2, Q4 2012 sales, telefonica
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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
Posted in 3, 4G, Everything Everywhere, LTE, Vodafone, at&t, mobile news, o2, orange, t-mobile, telefonica, verizon
Tagged 3, deutsche telekom, EE, flotation, France Telekom, o2, Vodafone
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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
Posted in Everything Everywhere, Featured, Vodafone, at&t, mobile news, o2, orange, t-mobile, telefonica
Tagged at&t, EE, o2, Vodafone
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No plans to float Britain’s O2, insists Telefonica
Despite making a bundle from doing just that with O2 Germany
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has ruled out the possibility of floating its UK subsidiary, O2, on the London market. Recently, Telefonica itself has struggled to make a profit and has resorted to taking its O2 Germany unit public as part of a move to reduce its €56 billion (£46.5 billion) debt. However, Telefonica’s CEO José María Álvarez-Pallete has dismissed the idea that he would do likewise with the UK operation, claiming the German and British businesses were very different. Continue reading
UK MVNOs may be losing that personal touch
Rating: Virgin Media/Mobile UK fails to impress
It is always dangerous to base an assumption on such a low sample, but the experience of one Brit cellular user has raised our curiosity. This particular reader has been on a 24 month contract with Virgin Media (formerly Virgin Mobile UK) for a BlackBerry Curve 8520 which was utilised purely for work email purposes and not personal calls. Given that the contract will finally expire early this month [January 2013], he called Virgin hoping that the firm’s customer retention policy would at least secure an equivalent deal. No such luck. The agent only made a feeble effort to entice him onto the most expensive tariff. Continue reading
Posted in BlackBerry, Mobile Operators, virgin
Tagged BlackBerry, Curve 9320, giffgaff, gigabag, o2, tesco, virgin mobile
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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
Posted in 3, Vodafone, mobile billing, mobile news, o2, orange, t-mobile
Tagged customer billing, EE, o2, ofcom, three, Vodafone
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EE extends headstart with 17 more cities added to its 4G coverage
Competitors Vodafone and O2 will have to wait until early summer
Seventeen more British cities are to be embraced by EE‘s 4G network, as the nation’s biggest mobile operator seeks to extend its headstart over rivals Vodafone and O2. EE, which owns T-Mobile and Orange, will be able to offer ultra-fast broadband to an extra 40 million potential users by March 2013 – several months ahead of competitors who are currently bidding in a government auction for new spectrum and whose own 4G services will probably not be operational until early Summer 2013. Continue reading
Posted in 4G, Everything Everywhere, Vodafone, mobile news, o2, orange, t-mobile
Tagged 4G, EE, network coverage, o2, Vodafone
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4G bidders may get low cost loans from European bank
Cash boost could improve next week’s auction prospects
Britain’s mobile operators could be in line for cheap loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to fund 4G roll-out once successful applicants from the nation’s spectrum auction, starting next week, are selected. The bank has already agreed to lend the country’s biggest operator EE around £350 million to upgrade its mast network and, according to insiders, is similarly interested in backing successful bidders of 4G. Continue reading
Posted in 3, 4G, Everything Everywhere, Mobile Broadband, Vodafone, o2
Tagged 4G, EE, European Investment Bank, o2, three, Vodafone
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Chancellor counts on 4G chickens to ease Britain’s debt
UK could lose AAA rating if debt isn’t brought under control
Credit agencies are circling over Britain following yesterday’s [December 5th 2012] ‘mini budget’ revealing how reducing the nation’s 2012-13 deficit hinges largely on how much the government receives from its forthcoming 4G auction. UK Chancellor, George Osborne, told the House of Commons that he expects to receive £3.5 billion from the auction next month [January 2013] but Brian Potterill, director of PwC’s telecoms strategy team, is among those suggesting that it might generate as little as £2 billion. Continue reading
Posted in 4G, Everything Everywhere, Mobile Broadband, Vodafone, mobile news
Tagged 4G auction, Brian Potterill, EE, Fitch, George Osborne, mini budget, o2, PwC, three, Vodafone
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Guest Post: The importance of service range in choosing your mobile provider
by Stanley Parsons, a blogger who works closely with GSM Booster
Mobile phones have turned into one of the most valued possessions of people today. With instant communication and being in constant touch becoming an imperative feature of people’s lives, there are few ways in which one could imagine life prior to the advent of these mobile devices. Be it youngsters in college or busy executives or the elderly who are retired, mobile phones are necessary for them all and are, hence, heavily utilised. One of the most important criteria, however, is service range. Continue reading
Posted in 3, Vodafone, o2
Tagged femtocell, GSM Booster, o2, service range, signal booster, Vodafone Sure Signal
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Vodafone in the dock over ‘misleading’ 4G adverts
EE says main rival shouldn’t promise a service it has yet to be awarded
Britain’s Vodafone is being reported to the Advertising Standard Authority by arch rival EE amid accusations it is duping customers with ‘misleading’ 4G claims. EE, the country’s biggest mobile operator which owns Orange and T-mobile, stole a seven month march on rivals recently when it was allowed to introduce 4G services using existing spectrum. Others like Vodafone, O2 and Three, will have to wait until around summer 2013 before they too can offer superfast services. Continue reading
Britain’s 4G auction roll-out details finally unveiled
Government whip cracking pays off
UK regulator Ofcom has finally unveiled details of how the nation’s 4G spectrum will be auctioned, though money raised will only be a fraction of that garnered for 3G. Applications for the 800 MHz and 2.6G Hz bands will be accepted on December 11th 2012, less than a month away, with the qualification stage to determine which companies can actually bid decided soon after. The reserve price for the spectrum sell-off will be a mere £1.3 billion, much less than the £22 billion raised for 3G licences, though whoever wins will be under an obligation to reach 98 per cent of the UK. Continue reading
Posted in 3, 4G, Everything Everywhere, LTE, Vodafone, o2
Tagged 4G auction, EE, o2, ofcom, three, Vodafone
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