Neelie Kroes has expanded on her plans to create a single telecoms market within the EU and has confirmed that she does not want to get rid of national regulators.
Despite all households in the European Union now having access to basic internet connectivity, significant challenges remain before the same can be said of high-speed services, not least of which is the high cost of wiring up rural areas, according to UK research firm Point Topic.
Providing super-fast broadband to the whole of the European Union could be much less expensive than previously thought, according to UK research firm Point Topic, which estimates that the whole economic area could be served for €80bn – less than a third of the €270bn estimated by the European Commission in its Digital Agenda.
This week the people of Britain bid farewell (or at least goodbye) to a woman who divided the nation in death as much as she did in life. Ex-Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, was a strong proponent of free market economics – support the big guys and the devil take the hindmost.
The European Commission (EC) has called on all EU member states to make spectrum around the 2GHz frequency band available for LTE services. The paired terrestrial 2 GHz band (1920-1980 MHz paired with 2110-2170 MHz) has been traditionally used for UMTS 3G networks, but the EC wants it to be liberalised for 4G services across the region.
The mobile commerce joint venture between UK operators O2, Vodafone and Everything Everywhere (parent of the Orange and T-Mobile brands in the UK) has been granted unconditional approval by the European Commission (EC).
The European Commission (EC) has called on mobile operators in the region to share radio spectrum more effectively. The authority said that national spectrum regulation does not efficiently utilise spectrum or allow licensees to make use of new technical possibilities, leaving mobile and broadband users at risk of poor service as demand for data continues to grow.
An extensive new report from the European Commission has found that EU citizens, businesses and innovators are generating enough demand for digital products and services, but are being let down by insufficient investment in information and communication technologies (ICT).
The European Commission (EC) has given the go-ahead to Google’s proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility. It said that the deal “would not significantly modify the market situation in respect of operating systems and patents for these devices.”
The European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers is considering a proposal from the European Commission for an ambitious project, worth up to €100bn ($140bn), to fund the rollout of fibre broadband and associated services across the EU.
A project to provide Europe with more reliable satellite navigation technology is nearing fruition after the European Commission (EC) announced that the first two satellite-navigation spacecraft are ready for launch.
The proposals announced by the European Commission (EC) will effectively end the European Union mobile roaming market as it stands today. By requiring operators to open their networks to any mobile service provider based on regulated wholesale rates, the EC has consigned to history the bi-lateral approach to striking roaming wholesale agreements which has been in place since the advent of GSM.
Following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, on Thursday blasted roaming costs as an “outdated concept”.
The European Commission (EC) this week proposed a five-year plan for the award and harmonisation of radio spectrum within the EU to boost the deployment and take up of fast and ultra-fast broadband.
Probably the most influential woman in the mobile industry, Commissioner Reding has not won a great deal of friends among mobile operators. Whether you see her as a slick, populist politician interfering in a market that is best left to set its own levels, or as a consumer champion who has broken the back of cosy operator pricing cartels, there is no denying her impact.
Four of Europe’s largest mobile operators – Vodafone, Telefónica O2, T-Mobile and Orange – lost their battle with European authorities on Tuesday, after the European Court of Justice ruled that roaming caps can stick.
Europe’s mobile operators saw their arguments against the implementation of roaming price caps subjugated on Thursday, after a key legal advisor to the European Court of Justice green lighted the proposals.
Probably the most influential woman in the mobile industry, Commissioner Reding has not won a great deal of friends among mobile operators. Whether you see her as a slick, populist politician interfering in a market that is best left to set its own levels, or as a consumer champion who has broken the back of cosy operator pricing cartels, there is no denying her impact.
It looks like the news-bots in the Vodafone comms team have had their bonus structures adjusted to incentivise them on a per-press release basis, because the stories have been coming thick and fast from the company’s Newbury HQ this week.
The European Commission this week designated two providers to offer satellite-based media and communications services, allocating Inmarsat and Solaris Mobile spectrum in the 2GHz S-band.
Lean and MeanWith summer supposedly fast approaching, many look to trim some fat and get in shape for the sunny months. The Informer has never been a huge fan of gyms; in fact his favourite machine in the gym is the one that sells chocolate. Telefonica’s UK arm O2, is one business that is looking to get lean for the holidays, though, and this week it announced that it is to trim 3,500 UK employees.
Cross-border opportunities are there, but Telenor has work to do in BulgariaPan-European operater group Telenor is making another move into Eastern Europe, this time buying Bulgaria’s Globul. The move makes sense for several reasons, but success won’t come easy in a country with high mobile penetration and a sluggish economy.
Telecoms.com speaks with Ali Agan, who has risen through the ranks of TeliaSonera Group to become CEO of KCell in Kazakhstan. With a young population Agan is keen to deploy LTE and exploit nascent demand for data services.
Jonathan Bell, VP of Marketing at OpenCloud, discusses how policy and pricing are just two dimensions along which telecoms operators can differentiate their propositions. By adding a third dimension, the service behaviour itself, operators can define and bring true innovation to the market that surpasses the traditional approaches of the past, he says.
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Calls for consolidation in the European mobile market grow louder by the week and four-operator markets look increasingly challenged. Now, those mobile operators that have already built scale seem to be suggesting that there is no option but to expand yet further through diversification.