This is pretty cool: Some developers from the Telefonica-owned European mobile carrier O2 have been toying with the idea to use an…
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Is Jajah dead? Well, depends on who and what you ask
Over the weekend, news broke that Telefonica was killing Jajah. While the news created a lot of consternation, the reality is that both parties got what they needed from the $207 million deal. Investors made money and Telefonica got something else.…
Read MoreTelefonica cashes its Czechs, as country’s richest man agrees to take over local telco
The shuffling of Telefonica's cards continues: the Spanish telecoms giant is set to sell off a $3.33 billion controlling stake in its Czech and Slovakian operations, with the buyer being Petr Kellner's investment vehicle PPF Group.…
Read MoreNapster gets to live another day, thanks to new Rhapsody-Telefonica partnership
Rhapsody teams up with Telefonica to expand to Latin America and more of Europe. But will the partnership result in a true bundled offering?…
Read MoreThe U.K.’s smart meter plan kicks into high gear
By the end of the decade almost all of British homes are supposed to get smart, digital, connected utility meters installed. And the plan is seeing some large contracts handed out to vendors like Landis+Gyr and Telefonica.…
Read MoreTelefonica’s E-Plus takeover will get scrutiny at EU level, antitrust chief confirms
European competition chief Joaquin Almunia has reiterated his wish that his department examine Telefonica(s tef)’s proposed takeover of KPN’s E-Plus, which would…
Read MoreO2 UK lays its 4G cards on the table, but Vodafone’s offering still looks like the best deal
The UK's biggest mobile carriers have now all detailed their 4G offerings, and at the low-end price point Vodafone offers a 2GB cap while EE and O2 offer 1GB. However, the disruptive fourth player is still to show its hand.…
Read MoreEvernote inks deal with Telefónica for global Premium rollout
The strategic agreement is the biggest carrier win thus far for Evernote, as it potentially promotes the productivity tool to 250 million smartphone users around the world.…
Read MoreFirefox OS for the world! ZTE to sell $80 Open smartphone through eBay
The ZTE Open, one of the very first Firefox OS smartphones, will soon be available around the world once the Chinese manufacturer starts selling directly to consumers through eBay.…
Read MoreTelefónica scraps its free messaging app Tu Me to focus on more valuable Tu Go
The WhatsApp/Skype rival Tu Me didn't take off, but Tu Go -- which instead extends handset functionality to the desktop and tablet -- seems to be a greater success. That said, Joyn remains the elephant in the room.…
Read MoreUK 4G market opens up as O2 sets launch date for end of August
O2's 4G services will go live in London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August, with 10 more cities to follow this year. With EE's 4G already up and running, that just leaves Vodafone and Three to firm up their dates.…
Read MoreFirefox OS hits retail – now let’s see how far openness can take it
The first commercial Firefox OS handset, the ZTE Open, will become available to Spanish consumers on Tuesday. The question now is whether operators' stated support will materialize as promised.…
Read MoreTired of iOS and Android, Telefónica backs Windows Phone. It won’t likely matter.
Telefónica doesn't like the iOS and Android duopoly so it's helping Microsoft in six markets. But only three of them are likely to grab first time smartphone owners, the bigger potential audience for Windows Phone at this point.…
Read MoreIntroducing the next 6 digital media startups from the BBC’s accelerator in London
The BBC's young accelerator program, called BBC Labs, has launched its latest batch of London digital media startups.…
Read MoreTelefónica steps up its security game with Eleven Paths “hothouse”
The startup-within-a-telco comprises a Spanish team with a track record, who will try to develop speedy solutions to network and mobile vulnerability problems.…
Read MoreTelefonica is setting up a digital services firm with Spanish banks
This is more than just a partnership: it's a full-blown joint venture that will see a new company tackle P2P mobile payments and create a digital "community" for retailers and customers around the world.…
Read MoreUsing a Samsung phone on a Telefónica network? Get ready for carrier billing
The world's top handset manufacturer has signed up for Telefónica's carrier billing service, which will let customers buy apps and content through the Samsung app store and charge it to their phone bill.…
Read MoreSo UK carriers are selling anonymized customer data? That may not be a bad thing.
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 MoreIntel banks on enterprise mobile app development again, leading $9M FeedHenry round
Intel Capital and others have put $9 million into Irish outfit FeedHenry, which provides a mobile app development and deployment platform, along with backend-as-a-service, for mostly enterprise customers.…
Read MoreIntel, Samsung, Telefonica endorse anticipatory computing, invest in Expect Labs
Expect Labs more than doubles its current funding with latest round. The startup wants computers to be able to predict the kind of information we need instead of us having to ask for it.…
Read MoreChat apps have overtaken SMS by message volume, but how big a disaster is that for carriers?
According to analysts at Informa, IP-based platforms such as WhatsApp now carry more messages than SMS infrastructure does. However, we should be cautious about how we interpret the figures.…
Read MoreTelefonica’s Tu Go shows that, finally, a telco has figured out the value of the app
Tu Go extends essential functionality to Wi-Fi-connected devices, making the service you're already paying for more relevant and easier to use. It may be the first time a telco has created a genuinely sensible OTT app.…
Read MoreBSkyB buys Telefónica UK’s fixed-line business for $300M
The deal will make Sky the UK's second-largest fixed-line broadband and voice player. It also makes it more likely that the O2 UK mobile business will be open for a merger with one of its rivals.…
Read MoreT-Mobile’s M2M provider Raco goes international with Sprint, Telefónica deals
Raco Wireless is already connecting plenty of appliances, vehicles and gadgets to the internet of things using T-Mobile's 2G networm, but with new carrier partnerships the M2M specialist can connect those things in more places.…
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