A pressure group with members including Microsoft, Oracle and Nokia has filed a complaint with the European Commission claiming that Google has used anti-competitive practices to dominate the mobile space. Fairsearch claimed that Google has unfairly cemented its control over consumers’ mobile internet experience and in online advertising for mobile.
Before the dust settled on its previous acquisition (Acme Packet for $2.1b), Oracle announced it is acquiring North American vendor Tekelec. Oracle started in database systems and is a leading player in this field – even in mobile, it is now growing its infrastructure reach and will surely expand its business in mobile networks.
Continuing its telco-centric spending spree, US IT solutions provider Oracle announced on Monday its intention to acquire network signalling and policy control specialist Tekelec.
OSS/BSS vendors both large and not so large used the opportunity afforded by the 2013 Mobile World Congress to make some very strategic announcements. The majority of these announcements reflected very closely what is about to happen in the sector as demand for greater complexity rises with the roll-out of LTE and the need for a solution to the seemingly eternal problem of software interfacing grows ever more pressing.
At midnight tonight the world’s biggest party will kick off, as more than one billion Chinese people take to the streets to celebrate the Chinese New Year. 2013 is the year of the water snake which is a totem that symbolises wisdom. It’s also the year that Telecoms.com tapped into the industry’s wisdom for its first annual industry survey and gathered almost 2,000 responses.
What was striking about the results is just how much the responses from operator personnel (600 individuals from 260 separate opcos) matched those of their peers across the wider industry, even when looking at contentious issues like roaming and regulation. Does this mean the industry has aligned in the face of threat from external players? After all, the snake is an adaptable creature renowned for its ability to sneak into other environments.
If a clear indication was needed that IT and networking firms are looking to extend their reach beyond mere IP specialisation and get deeper into the telco vertical, it came this week when Acme Packet said it had agreed to be acquired by Oracle.
Telco network session delivery specialist Acme Packet said Monday that it has agreed to be acquired by software giant Oracle.
In 2011, communication service providers (CSPs) lost €10.4 billion in text messaging revenues, according to Ovum. This, Ovum argues, was down to the increasing popularity of over the top (OTT) social messaging services, such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Given that €6.5 billion was lost in revenue for the same reason in 2010, CSPs find themselves under increasing pressure from OTT providers who are offering competing services at cheaper prices.
Software and middleware vendors HP and Oracle have been all over the app store bandwagon this week, both unveiling platforms designed to help service providers and operators get their own app store initiatives underway.
As interest in defunct kit maker Nortel’s patent portfolio heightens, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is reported to be taking a close interest in the bidders. Apple is the latest company reported to be interested in making a purchase after Google opened bidding with a $900m offer in April. Now the DoJ is said to be concerned that the patents will be used to stymie competition in the telecoms sector.
What’s been interesting about this year’s TM Forum Management World event is the palpable buzz that, far from doom-and-gloom for the carriers, what we’re actually sitting in is the eye of a storm of opportunity, if only carriers shake off their reputation for being built for love rather than speed and start injecting a little agility into their processes.
We’ve had Moore’s Law and Metcalfe’s Law, now the technology world is doing its bit for re-jigging Newton’s third law of motion: for every legal action, there is an equal and opposite lawsuit.
Most communications service providers’ services are growing in terms of complexity and sheer number, and they need to deliver these services through multiple-channels (e.g. customer care, Web, kiosk, sales force, retail store). Whether they are triple-play, quad-play, mobility, or greenfield service providers, they must develop a strong product launch and order management environment to improve the customer experience while managing the operational costs of designing, launching, and delivering complex new products and services.
Google’s bid to buy $900m worth of Nortel patents and patent applications was approved on Monday. The planned sale required the approval of courts overseeing Nortel’s bankruptcy proceedings in Canada and the US. Under the terms of the auction, other parties may submit bids until June 13th, with the auction taking place on June 20th. Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009.
Google looks to be filling its patents war chest further, if rumours of a bid for bankrupt Israeli device manufacturer Modu are accurate. With the Android platform under increasing threat from patent challenges, Google is reported to have offered $2m for the patent portfolio of the company, which was founded by USB-Flash drive inventor Dov Moran and which made what it claimed to be the world’s lightest modular mobile phone.
Nortel Networks is to continue its post-bankruptcy asset sell-off, announcing the sale of its remaining patent portfolio to Google. The search giant is said to have offered $900m in cash in a “stalking horse” arrangement that could yet see another bidder come in with a higher offer. The patents in question are said to include both granted and pending applications covering wireless, 4G/LTE, data networking, optical, voice, social networking and internet, among others
Check this out! The Informer has had a wonderful idea for a regular slot on telecoms.com: Elevator Fighting! It’s a combination of the elevator pitch and cage fighting with a bit of Dragon’s Den thrown in.
US software firm Oracle has issued a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the Android operating system backed by the internet services player infringes a number of patents that relate to the Oracle-owned Java software. Java was developed by Sun Microsystems, which Oracle acquired in a deal that was completed early this year.
According to reports, billing firm Intec Telecom Systems is in preliminary takeover talks with software and networking giant Oracle. Intec issued a profits warning last week and is known to be courting other prospective buyers including private equity group Hg Capital. According to Ovum analyst Eirwen Nichols, “Intec would certainly provide Oracle with a solid [...]
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.