Connected cars are fast becoming the topic that has the telecoms industry’s tongues wagging excitedly. This year, Ford’s chairman gave a keynote presentation at Mobile World Congress, RIM showcased a connected Porsche at its BlackBerry World 2012 event, and Google secured the first ever self-driving car licence in the US. And as the connected car market continues to evolve, mobile operators are finding that they have a key part to play in the ecosystem, and are having to invest time and resources to ensure they are not overlooked as the connected car market matures.
America Movil’s intention to take over a 28 per cent stake in Dutch operator KPN is an indication of two important developments in the changing global telecoms sector. While some European operators are still expanding internationally, the balance of power in the global market is shifting away from old European players to emerging telecoms giants. At the same time, new global players from the emerging markets are looking to diversify their presence with the main objective of bringing in the know-how and experience of operators from the mature markets.
Latin-American operator group America Movil has tendered a bid to take its stake in Dutch fixed-line and mobile operator KPN from 4.8 per cent to 28 per cent, as it aims to expand its geographic reach. The firm, bankrolled by billionaire Carlos Slim, is currently the third largest operator group in the world, in terms of subscriptions, according to Informa’s World Cellular Information Service (WCIS).
Dutch telco KPN has announced a number of measures designed to strengthen its involvement in Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks in the Netherlands, including the acquisition of four fibre service providers.
Almost one third of mobile subscribers in the Netherlands are customers of virtual operators, according to a report published this week by Dutch analyst house Telecom Paper. The total number of MVNO subs in the market has now hit 6.6 million, or 32.8 per cent of the total subscriber base, the analyst said.
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European carriers KPN and Telefónica have struck a deal to support the delivery of global services within each other’s markets to multinational customers.
Dutch carrier KPN is the latest operator to join the revolt against flat rate data charges and is likely to introduce usage-based tariffs by the end of the year.
Dutch carrier KPN has entered into an agreement to sell its Belgian B2B and carrier business to local rival Mobistar for €65m.
It’s been a week of pecuniary punishments in the Low Countries, with carriers in both Belgium and the Netherlands on the receiving end of regulatory remonstrations. First up was Proximus, a carrier with a name that makes it sound like a character from the film Gladiator. It’s appropriate, really, as the firm – which is the mobile arm of incumbent telco Belgacom and the market leader – seems to feel as if it’s been stabbed in the back by a petty, power-crazed ruler.
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Netherlands-based carrier KPN said Thursday that it will launch mobile services in France on Sunday, January 11. KPN will offer mobile services as an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) to French consumers by piggybacking on the network of local carrier Bouygues Telecom. The French offering will be a no frills, online only distribution model and [...]