Vodafone and Kabel Deutschland confirm takeover flirtation
Vodafone has made a “preliminary approach” to Germany’s top cable provider, but no bids have been revealed yet. Reports suggest Liberty Global might also be interested. Read more »
Touting fastest 4G takeup in Europe so far, EE adds sharing and pre-pay options
It appears that LTE subscriber numbers at EE — a carrier that still has a monopoly on 4G in the UK — are increasing at an accelerating pace. But rivals are set to launch their 4G offerings soon. Read more »
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Where new opportunity lies in the mobile operating system space
Roughly half a dozen new mobile operating systems will come to market over the next 6 to 12 months. Many of these look to be more sophisticated than the older ones controlled by Apple and Google, for whom serious competition could be just around the corner. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
So UK carriers are selling anonymized customer data? That may not be a bad thing.
photo: Lightspring
British privacy advocates have reacted with horror to the idea of EE and market research firm Ipsos Mori selling anonymized customer data. On balance, they shouldn’t worry so much. Read more »
Vodafone investors want more money in still-speculative Verizon takeover deal
We’d have to go all the way back to 2010 to find the last rumored merger between Verizon and Vodafone, but the latest crop of rumors are taking speculation to a new extreme. Read more »
Yes, it’s another Verizon-Vodafone rumor, this time of a $100B buyout
Mere weeks after Verizon strongly denied reports that it was planning to take over Vodafone, the U.S. carrier is now rumored to be planning a buyout of Voda’s share in Verizon Wireless. Read more »
9 in 10 Londoners will soon have free Wi-Fi in Tube stations
The UK’s second-largest mobile carrier, O2, has become the latest to sign a deal with Virgin Media in order to give its customers free internet access on the London Underground. Read more »
Vodafone shares dip as Verizon denies $245 billion takeover rumors
Verizon has unsurprisingly scotched Tuesday’s rumor of a record-breaking takeover – in concert with rival carrier AT&T, no less – of Vodafone. Voda’s shares have dropped a couple percent in response. Read more »
European carriers are moving away from handset subsidies, analysts find
The shift away from subsidies is happening in earnest, as the growing popularity of expensive smartphones makes it less viable for carriers to mask the real cost of the handset. Read more »
Deutsche Telekom activates Joyn for richer communications
Germany’s largest mobile operators, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone, both support Joyn now. However, the service’s success depends on all carriers signing up, as has happened in Spain and South Korea. Read more »
Startup Fenix now selling its off-grid batteries via Vodafone in Tanzania
Startup Fenix has scored a killer deal with Vodafone in Tanzania, and the telco giant will sell and market its off-grid battery to local entrepreneurs. Read more »
The results are in: UK 4G spectrum auction has five winners, raising $3.62B
EE, Vodafone, Three, O2 and BT have all won spectrum in the auction, which the regulator Ofcom says will lead to full 4G coverage by the end of 2017. Read more »
Hold off updating your iPhone 4S to iOS 6.1, European carriers warn customers
photo: Getty Images / Oli Scarff
Vodafone UK and 3 Austria have told subscribers that they should avoid updating their iPhone 4S to the latest version of iOS, while Apple works on a fix for reported 3G connectivity problems. Read more »
UK carriers may all be able to roll out 4G using existing spectrum
EE has been able to roll out 4G earlier than its rivals because it’s been allowed to reuse its 2G and 3G spectrum for LTE. Now its rivals look set to get the same opportunity. Read more »
Not RIM’s fault this time: Router error downs BlackBerry services for Vodafone EMEA users
photo: RIM
Vodafone has fessed up to responsibility for the outage, which affected an unspecified number of BlackBerry users across Europe, the Middle East and Africa on Friday. Read more »
Vodafone makes play for UK pre-pay market with Nearly New scheme
The Nearly New program offers barely-used smartphones at cut-rate prices. It’s available to contract users, but pre-pay customers are the main focus – post-Nexus 4, is this the new battleground? Read more »
Vodafone leads $8.3M investment in Jibe Mobile
photo: Jibe
Vodafone Ventures is leading an $8.3 million investment in Jibe Mobile, which is working on a platform to help developers integrate Joyn. Joyn, which is backed by GSMA, enables rich communications such as IM, voice and video calling and file transfers. Read more »
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Forecast: the converged mobile messaging market
The mobile-messaging value chain is changing as OTT players upend mobile operators’ SMS business. There will be 27.7 trillion messages by 2016, and most of the growth in traffic will come from IP-based services. Successful carriers will use this new technology to extend reliability and scalability. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Spain’s carriers unite on Joyn – is this the future of mobile?
The three biggest mobile operators in Spain have all launched Joyn, the consumer-facing brand name for Rich Communications Services. But, with entrenched over-the-top rivals such as WhatsApp, is this long-gestating platform too late? Read more »
Ireland should finally get 4G in 2013, after spectrum auction shatters expectations
You know what’s cool? $1.1bn. Especially when, like the Irish government, you were only expecting a fifth of that. And, with carriers finally free to roll out 4G, that won’t be the only boost to the Irish economy. Read more »
In new era, operators scorn over-the-top services at their peril
photo: Shutterstock/caliber_3D
Consumers are gravitating to an ever expanding array of OTT services – much to the chagrin of telecom operators. Andreas Bernström, CEO of Rebtel, argues that not partnering up means missing out on big revenues and the control of their market. Read more »
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Consumer privacy in the mobile advertising era
Smartphones can enable an amazing level of connectivity, but they can also allow that activity to be monitored and used in controversial ways. But for mobile marketing to realize its full potential, consumers may need to sacrifice their privacy to one degree or another. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Unfolding soon: Vodafone’s signal-boosting, phone-charging umbrella
You might not be James Bond, but you could be mistaken for him if you carry Vodafone’s Booster Brolly: With a dozen solar panels, the umbrella can charge a phone while also boosting cellular reception and later lighting your path with the touch of a button. Read more »
Voda-O2 pact may help UK get 4G faster than expected
Vodafone and O2 are joining forces in Britain to share their grid and try to roll out 4G services faster than planned. It’s being painted as a great deal for consumers — but it’s actually being driven by the actions of their rivals. Read more »
Samsung Galaxy S III smashes pre-order records in UK
Any remaining doubts of high demand for Samsung’s Galaxy S III can be laid to rest: Vodafone says that pre-orders for the coming soon phone have set records, making the Galaxy S III the operator’s most pre-ordered Android device yet. Carphone Warehouse is seeing the same. Read more »
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Key technologies for the smart city
Five key technology sectors are enabling the smart city: smart grids, smart transport, smart water and waste management, smart building systems, and the enabling ICT platforms for the smart city. Key players like IT companies, telcos and utilities must learn how to harness those technologies, and quickly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Vodafone lashes out as EU votes to cut roaming charges
European politicians have just voted up proposals to slash roaming charges for mobile users who stray across the continent’s borders. But it’s drawn a violent response from Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao who thinks it could create “hell” for operators. Read more »
Let's Try This Again: UK Regulator Revises 4G Auction Terms For Q4 2012
photo: Flickr / Staci D. Kramer
While some operators in some countries (like the U.S. and Japan) have already celebrated birthdays for their LTE services, 4G in the UK hasn… Read more at paidContent »
Verizon backs away from $2 convenience fee
That didn’t take long. A day after Verizon confirmed it was going to charge $2 for single credit and debit card payments online and over the phone, it backed down following a chorus of complaints and questions from the FCC. Read more »
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AT&T sans T-Mobile USA: Making lemons from lemonade
In the wake of its failed acquisition of T-Mobile USA, analysts are speculating where AT&T can find enough spectrum to keep pace with Verizon Wireless. But instead AT&T should be scrambling to ensure that it makes the most of the spectrum it does ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Verizon to buy Cox spectrum to remake its broadband model
Verizon Wireless has agreed to purchase some of Cox Communications’ wireless spectrum for $315 million. With this deal, and an earlier spectrum deal, Verizon looks like it will focus on its wireless biz and use its wireline fiber business to support enterprises and cell towers. Read more »
More Carrier IQ: Nokia, Google, Verizon Say No Dice, Sprint, AT&T Say Yes
Several days into the Carrier IQ story — which raised privacy concerns around software that claims to be an innocent diagnostics tool — an… Read more at paidContent »
Three Cries Foul To EU Regulators Over British Mobile Commerce JV
We have seen this one brewing for some time already, and now it appears to be bubbling over: the Hutchison-owned UK mobile operator Three is… Read more at paidContent »
Roll On, Digital Reorganization. Telefonica Posts First Loss In Nine Years
Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) has put its digital eggs into one basket — centralizing all its global digital operations into one new unit — and w… Read more at paidContent »
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Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
Connectivity changes everything. That’s the credo driving just about every corner of our day-to-day lives. As human beings, we are now connected to one another through not just our social networks but also our cars, the books we read, the albums we download and even our own health and wellness habits (to name just a few areas). With that in mind, GigaOM Pro has singled out certain areas in the technology industry where we see this shift to constant connectivity taking place most drastically. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
A Tale Of Two Strategies: Home And Away With Orange And Vodafone
Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and Orange have long been rivals in mobile phone markets in Europe, but as growth slows down in the region, the two are… Read more at paidContent »
Meet the top 20 mobile operators
There are more than 5 billion mobile subscribers in the world, and new growth is coming from Asia and Latin America, according to data out on Thursday from Wireless Intelligence, which ranked the top 20 mobile operators by subscribers. U.S. carriers are way down the list. Read more »
The Rising iPhone Tide Will Lift Some Carrier Boats More Than Others
Only one day left to iPhone news nirvana, and a lot of leaks are coming through about who will get to sell the device — and what, exactly,… Read more at paidContent »
Mobile Interactive Group Buys Digital Jigsaw, Seeks More Cross-Platform Biz
Some more consolidation in the digital marketing space, with one of the UK’s bigger mobile specialists, Mobile Interactive Group, showing th… Read more at paidContent »
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The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro
As our demand for data increases, so too do the number of mobile devices and services. Add to that the infrastructure needed to support such connectivity, and a wide, complex picture of the mobile industry emerges. This report examines the various sectors of the mobile landscape and what the future holds for each. Hardware, cloud services, mobile search, advertising, location-based services and the growing ubiquity of the Internet of Things will all play an important role in the concept of mobility as it shifts and evolves over the next several years. With the help of more than a dozen contributors, GigaOM Pro presents a comprehensive analysis of the companies and trends that will lead us into the next era of mobile. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
