vodafoneRSS

Indian operators told to end roaming agreement

India's telecoms authorities want operators to end their roaming pact

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will order Bharti Airtel, Idea, Vodafone to end their roaming pact, according to media reports in the country. The three operators had entered into an agreement with one another to offer 3G mobile services in circles, or districts, where they failed to acquire spectrum in the country’s auction when it was held last year.

Some iPhone apps failing Vodafone quality tests

Lee Epting, group director of content services at Vodafone

Some applications available through Apple’s App Store are failing Vodafone’s internal quality standards, accessing APIs that are non-essential for the applications’ functions, according to the international carrier’s group director of content services, Lee Epting.

Buyer’s Market

peter-becker

As the global director for terminals marketing at the Vodafone Group, Peter Becker-Pennrich holds decision making powers over a procurement strategy that deals in serious volumes. Vodafone buys between 60 and 70 million handsets each year, spending $8bn across it’s footprint, including affiliates and partner markets. In this exclusive interview Becker-Pennrich offers frank assessments of the different strategies adopted by the vendor community, their chances for success and the nature of the relationship – ever evolving – between operators, vendors and platform developers.

Vodafone chosen as European provider for Sony PlayStation Vita 3G

Vodafone is the preferred operator partner for the PS Vita

Vodafone and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have announced a partnership that will see the UK headquartered international carrier become the ‘preferred partner’ to provide connectivity for the 3G version of Sony’s forthcoming portable gaming console. The deal extends across Europe, taking in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Vodafone’s Partner in France (SFR), as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

3UK claims m-commerce joint venture is anti-competitive

3UK claims the joint venture between Everything Everywhere, Vodafone and O2 is anti-competitive

3UK intends to make an initial complaint to antitrust authorities in the UK and Europe regarding the proposed joint venture between O2, Vodafone and Everything Everywhere. Back in June this year, the three operators announced plans to create a standalone m-commerce joint venture in the UK.

Vodafone pitches curated app store offering

Vodafone is tackling the problem of too much choice

UK based carrier Vodafone is addressing the problem of swollen app stores, which it sees as a daunting experience for consumers due to the overwhelming numbers of apps. This week the company followed up on its own portal within the Android Market, with an own branded and curated app store that exists in its own right.

India’s BSNL cuts off operators following dispute

India's state-owned BSNL has cut off three operators over unpaid fees

The stand-off between India’s state-owned telco BSNL and several private operators shows no signs of abating, with even emergency services remaining unavailable to non-BSNL users in parts of the country.

Ofcom claims delay speculation is irrelevant

Ofcom claimed that mobile operators will not be able to roll out LTE until 2013

Mobile network operators will not be able to roll out 4G LTE services until 2013 at the earliest, due to technical issues, according to UK regulatory body Ofcom, rendering speculation about whether the spectrum auction will be delayed as irrelevant.

Vodafone sells 5.5% of Indian operation to healthcare provider

Indian foreign ownership rules limit direct investment at 74 per cent

International carrier Vodafone has sold 5.5 per cent of Indian operation Vodafone Essar to Indian medical services provider Piramal Healthcare for $640m. Vodafone is required to divest the stake to bring it back below the 74 percent ownership threshold, which is the Indian limit for foreign investment within a company. In July Vodafone acquired Essar’s holding in the operation, taking it beyond that threshold.

One third of Dutch mobile subs are MVNO customers

the Dutch MVNO market remains dynamic

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.