Following on from previous reports that the billionaire is the leading bidder for Polkomtel, Solorz is reported to be putting his finances in order to obtain the funds for the Polkomtel bid.
Friday 17 June 2011
Solorz reducing hold on Cyfrowy Polsat to buy into Polkomtel
RPT-Poland's Solorz eyes sale of Cyfrowy Polsat stake | Reuters
Telenor's bad day for IT
Telenor has delivered report to the Norwegian Post and Telecommunication Authority. | Reuters
Ever have those days at work where everything goes wrong with your computer and it just goes downhill from there? Ragnar Kårhu, CEO of Telenor Norway, has just written to the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority to explain his awful day at the office, June 10th 2010.
Following disruptions in service (that affected some subscribers) the MNO chose to upgrade and restart a server used for mobile broadband. Soon after the server came back online other servers started having problems with signalling traffic, being the data streams which bounce around between internal servers. The traffic volume increased beyond the systems abilities and subscribers were knocked out of operation.
Eventually they tracked down a rogue server and restarted it which reversed the problem. Following this they carried out the same restart across their server network.
Thursday 16 June 2011
Ukrtelecom to sell off mobile arm
Ukrtelecom Set to Sell Its Mobile Business, Interfax Reports - Bloomberg
TeleGeography is quoting a local source valuing the sell off at USD 200 million.
Bloomberg and other news sources are quoting Interfax Ukraine as a source claiming that Ukrtelecom have confirmed their intent to spin off the mobile side of their telecoms business.
Having trawled through the Interfax site the best reference we found is http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/eco/70271/, being an article from June 2nd stating that the board would meet June 14th to discuss the move. To note there is no release on either Ukrtelecom's site or within Interfax Ukraine confirming the outcome of this meeting.
TeleGeography is quoting a local source valuing the sell off at USD 200 million.
Top 3 UK MNOs sideline Three from new mobile marketing and payments venture
Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK to form mobile marketing and payments joint venture - Vodafone
Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK today announced plans to create a standalone m-commerce joint venture (JV). The new entity, the first of its kind in the UK, will bring together the expertise and technology of the UK’s leading mobile operators, enabling the rapid development and delivery of new mobile marketing and payment services.
The JV will provide a single contact for advertisers, marketing partners, retailers and banks making it far easier to create m-commerce products and services. The JV will be open and available to all industry participants, maximising benefits to consumers.
The JV is subject to competition clearance and is aiming to launch before the end of the year.
The JV will provide a single contact for advertisers, marketing partners, retailers and banks making it far easier to create m-commerce products and services. The JV will be open and available to all industry participants, maximising benefits to consumers.
The JV is subject to competition clearance and is aiming to launch before the end of the year.
Tom Alexander, CEO of Everything Everywhere, commented: "This groundbreaking new business will unlock the true potential of commerce in the wire-free world."
Ronan Dunne, Chief Executive Officer of Telefónica UK, said: “We are seeing an explosion in the m-commerce market. Mobile advertising spend alone has more than doubled in two years as consumers embrace marketing on their handsets because it is now relevant to them and provides a great customer experience."
Guy Laurence, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone UK, said: "Since Vodafone made the first ever call just 26 years ago, mobile phones have transformed people’s lives. Along the way, the mobile phone has become the one item people really cannot be without. It is the first thing they reach for in the morning and the last thing they check at night. Over recent years it has integrated new gadgets such as digital cameras and music players as they have become popular. The new generation of smartphones is even taking on desktop PC by providing internet on the move and removing the need to be in the home or office.
MegaFon's Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn resigns
MegaFon Announces Resignation of Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn / MegaFon corporate
JSC MegaFon announced the resignation of CFO Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn, effective June 16, 2011.
"I sincerely thank Kai-Uwe for his highly professional approach to work, devotion and commitment. He managed to create a great world-class team, able to solve problems however complicated and contributed significantly to MegaFon’s success. I’d like to wish Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn new successes in his career and interesting, ambitious projects." said Sergei Soldatenkov, JSC MegaFon CEO.
Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn served for two years as MegaFon CFO, working on improving budget management processes, financial control and corporate reporting.
Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn studied at Martin-Luther-Universität (Halle, Germany) and in 1992 at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in the Economics and Foreign Trade faculty. Before joining MegaFon, Kai-Uwe was with Tele 2 Russia as CFO from August 2007-January 2009. Previously, he worked for 15 years at Siemens in various divisions.
Raymond Ho, MegaFon’s finance director, is to take Mehlhorn’s place as temporary CFO."
JSC MegaFon announced the resignation of CFO Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn, effective June 16, 2011.
"I sincerely thank Kai-Uwe for his highly professional approach to work, devotion and commitment. He managed to create a great world-class team, able to solve problems however complicated and contributed significantly to MegaFon’s success. I’d like to wish Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn new successes in his career and interesting, ambitious projects." said Sergei Soldatenkov, JSC MegaFon CEO.
Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn served for two years as MegaFon CFO, working on improving budget management processes, financial control and corporate reporting.
Kai-Uwe Mehlhorn studied at Martin-Luther-Universität (Halle, Germany) and in 1992 at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in the Economics and Foreign Trade faculty. Before joining MegaFon, Kai-Uwe was with Tele 2 Russia as CFO from August 2007-January 2009. Previously, he worked for 15 years at Siemens in various divisions.
Raymond Ho, MegaFon’s finance director, is to take Mehlhorn’s place as temporary CFO."
Vivendi takes Vodafone's 44% stake in SFR
Vodafone Announces Completion of the Disposal of its Stake in SFR | Acquisition of 44% Stake in SFR
Vivendi today completed the acquisition of Vodafone’s 44% stake in SFR. The Group has achieved its strategic objective to own 100% of SFR. The amount of the transaction is €7,950 million. Additionally, SFR and Vodafone are extending their commercial co-operation for a further three years. This transaction is in line with the agreement announced on April the 4th, 2011 and has been completed within the requested deadline.
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Poland's Polkomtel could go for USD 6.6 bln
Solorz-Zak Said to Lead Polkomtel Sale With $6.6 Billion Bid - Businessweek
Polkomtel, 1 of the top 3 MNOs in Poland, is in the process of changing owners. There are currently 3 leading bids of which the forerunner appears to be from Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, a billionaire who owns cable operator Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.
Gaining access to an MNO would certainly be handy for the billionaire as Cyfrowy currently operates as an MVNO, via an agreement signed with Era back in 2006 (according to The MVNO Directory).
ARCEP opens the 4G race (France)
In what looks to be a multi billion dollar auction process the French regulator has opened up the bidding for 4G access. 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz frequencies are up for sale in an attempt to bring LTE services to France. Active MNOs expected to bid are Bouygues Telecom, Orange France and Société Française de Radiotéléphone (SFR). Free.fr are also a likely bidder and bids from MVNOs just like in previous 3G auctions may happen.
Press release - ARCEP - 15th June 2011
The Prime Minister has assigned digital dividend spectrum in the 800 MHz frequency band and spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band to mobile services, with a view to deploying ultra high-speed mobile (4G) networks.
On 31st May 2011, ARCEP adopted decisions containing proposals to the Minister responsible for electronic communications on the terms and methods to be used for these spectrum allocations. It is based on these proposals that calls for applications for spectrum awards in these two frequencies were issued through an order from the Minister responsible for Industry, and published in the Journal officiel today.
The deadline set for submitting applications to ARCEP are: 12 p.m. on 15th September 2011 for the 2.6 GHz band, and 12 p.m. on 15th December 2011 for the 800 MHz band. The Authority will be allocating 2.6 GHz-band spectrum in autumn 2011 and 800 MHz-band spectrum in early 2012.
Coming to complete the national optical fibre rollout programme, the deployment of fourth-generation cellular networks will enable the entire population to gain ultra high-speed access to the mobile Internet.
Press release - ARCEP - 15th June 2011
The Prime Minister has assigned digital dividend spectrum in the 800 MHz frequency band and spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band to mobile services, with a view to deploying ultra high-speed mobile (4G) networks.
On 31st May 2011, ARCEP adopted decisions containing proposals to the Minister responsible for electronic communications on the terms and methods to be used for these spectrum allocations. It is based on these proposals that calls for applications for spectrum awards in these two frequencies were issued through an order from the Minister responsible for Industry, and published in the Journal officiel today.
The deadline set for submitting applications to ARCEP are: 12 p.m. on 15th September 2011 for the 2.6 GHz band, and 12 p.m. on 15th December 2011 for the 800 MHz band. The Authority will be allocating 2.6 GHz-band spectrum in autumn 2011 and 800 MHz-band spectrum in early 2012.
Coming to complete the national optical fibre rollout programme, the deployment of fourth-generation cellular networks will enable the entire population to gain ultra high-speed access to the mobile Internet.
Tuesday 14 June 2011
TeliaSonera Investor Day (highlights)
TeliaSonera Investor Day
14 June 2011
Today at TeliaSonera’s Investor Day in Stockholm, Lars Nyberg, President and CEO, spoke about the business environment, TeliaSonera’s strategy, position and the need for new business models as well as the new brand identity.
“The demand for our services is greater than ever. Customers’ appetite for higher speed and more capacity makes both the mobile and fixed access businesses attractive. But as usage patterns change, there is also a need to develop new business and pricing models. Although we see that more and more operators are moving away from flat fee tariffs, it is inevitable that the future pricing structures must be tiered - based on speed, usage and quality”, Lars Nyberg said.
Nyberg also said that Eurasia continues to be the growth engine for the group. “There is still room to further expand voice penetration. But even more exciting is the untapped potential in mobile data. This requires affordable handsets and investments in high quality networks”.
“Our fixed networks remain a key strategic asset and in order to meet our customers’ demand for triple play and capacity hungry applications, we will invest more than SEK 8 billion in fiber until 2014, of which SEK 5 billion in Sweden. It will be a selective roll-out to ensure a good return on our investment. By the end of 2014 we have expanded our coverage to 2.3 million homes connected by fiber in the Nordic and Baltic countries, of which almost 1 million in Sweden”, Lars Nyberg said.
“Our ambition is to be number one or two in each market where we operate and a pioneer in this industry. To improve our position in the Danish mobile market we today announce a network sharing agreement with Telenor. The agreement involves the 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE) networks. Together, we will create Denmark’s best mobile network and thereby provide the best experience for customers using smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband”, Lars Nyberg said.
Nyberg also confirmed that the company will not bid for the Polish mobile operator Polkomtel. “We have done our homework thoroughly, weighed the pros and cons, and decided not to submit an offer. In respect of the company, the sellers and the ongoing process, we will not make any further comments".
Nyberg also said: “To maximize shareholder value, TeliaSonera will continue to have a disciplined approach to M&A and we will selectively look for new opportunities within or neighboring our current footprint. Any excess cash will be returned to shareholders. Taking into account the ordinary dividend in April and the recently completed buyback of SEK 10 billion we will be within our net debt to EBITDA target of 1.5-2.0 times “.At the meeting, TeliaSonera reiterated its outlook for 2011 stating that the growth in net sales in local currencies and excluding acquisitions is expected to be around 3 percent. The EBITDA margin, excluding non-recurring items, in 2011 is expected to improve compared with 2010. The CAPEX-to-sales ratio is expected to be approximately 13-14 percent in 2011, excluding license and spectrum fees.
Other featured TeliaSonera speakers at the Investor Day included Per-Arne Blomquist, Executive Vice President and CFO, Håkan Dahlström, President Business area Mobility Services, Malin Frenning, President Business area Broadband Services and Tero Kivisaari, President Business area Eurasia.
TeliaSonera AB discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instrument Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 9 a.m. CET on June 14, 2011.
14 June 2011
Today at TeliaSonera’s Investor Day in Stockholm, Lars Nyberg, President and CEO, spoke about the business environment, TeliaSonera’s strategy, position and the need for new business models as well as the new brand identity.
“The demand for our services is greater than ever. Customers’ appetite for higher speed and more capacity makes both the mobile and fixed access businesses attractive. But as usage patterns change, there is also a need to develop new business and pricing models. Although we see that more and more operators are moving away from flat fee tariffs, it is inevitable that the future pricing structures must be tiered - based on speed, usage and quality”, Lars Nyberg said.
Nyberg also said that Eurasia continues to be the growth engine for the group. “There is still room to further expand voice penetration. But even more exciting is the untapped potential in mobile data. This requires affordable handsets and investments in high quality networks”.
“Our fixed networks remain a key strategic asset and in order to meet our customers’ demand for triple play and capacity hungry applications, we will invest more than SEK 8 billion in fiber until 2014, of which SEK 5 billion in Sweden. It will be a selective roll-out to ensure a good return on our investment. By the end of 2014 we have expanded our coverage to 2.3 million homes connected by fiber in the Nordic and Baltic countries, of which almost 1 million in Sweden”, Lars Nyberg said.
“Our ambition is to be number one or two in each market where we operate and a pioneer in this industry. To improve our position in the Danish mobile market we today announce a network sharing agreement with Telenor. The agreement involves the 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE) networks. Together, we will create Denmark’s best mobile network and thereby provide the best experience for customers using smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband”, Lars Nyberg said.
Nyberg also confirmed that the company will not bid for the Polish mobile operator Polkomtel. “We have done our homework thoroughly, weighed the pros and cons, and decided not to submit an offer. In respect of the company, the sellers and the ongoing process, we will not make any further comments".
Nyberg also said: “To maximize shareholder value, TeliaSonera will continue to have a disciplined approach to M&A and we will selectively look for new opportunities within or neighboring our current footprint. Any excess cash will be returned to shareholders. Taking into account the ordinary dividend in April and the recently completed buyback of SEK 10 billion we will be within our net debt to EBITDA target of 1.5-2.0 times “.At the meeting, TeliaSonera reiterated its outlook for 2011 stating that the growth in net sales in local currencies and excluding acquisitions is expected to be around 3 percent. The EBITDA margin, excluding non-recurring items, in 2011 is expected to improve compared with 2010. The CAPEX-to-sales ratio is expected to be approximately 13-14 percent in 2011, excluding license and spectrum fees.
Other featured TeliaSonera speakers at the Investor Day included Per-Arne Blomquist, Executive Vice President and CFO, Håkan Dahlström, President Business area Mobility Services, Malin Frenning, President Business area Broadband Services and Tero Kivisaari, President Business area Eurasia.
TeliaSonera AB discloses the information provided herein pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instrument Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication at 9 a.m. CET on June 14, 2011.
Telenor and Telia bring their networks together (mega coverage)
Telenor and Telia bring their networks together, claim for Denmark's "best" network - Press release - Telenor (June 14, 2011)
This is a historic day in the Danish telecom industry. The two largest telecom providers in Scandinavia, Telia and Telenor, have entered into an agreement to share their mobile networks in Denmark. Telia and Telenor will also be establishing a common infrastructure company to build the joint network. The agreement involves the 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE) networks, and ambitions for the agreement are high:
"The decision to merge our network investments and network competencies is a real milestone. Together, we will create Denmark's best mobile network and thereby provide the best customer experience within smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband," say Søren Abildgaard, CEO, Telia, and Jon Erik Haug, CEO, Telenor.
High ambitions in Denmark
With this agreement, the two companies give each other access to existing towers in areas where they would each otherwise have had to build their own. In addition, future new cellular towers will be built jointly by Telenor and Telia. This will reduce both companies' spending on mobile infrastructure while at the same time allowing them to expand the joint network more quickly than they would have been able to do on their own.
"Both Telia and Telenor have high ambitions in Denmark. However, to achieve these ambitions, we need to do two things successfully: We need to provide a world-class customer experience. And we need to secure the scale of our network to ensure that it is also profitable to do business in Denmark in the long term. By sharing networks, we are taking a giant and strategically important step on both fronts, making us even better prepared to face the competition," say Jon Erik Haug and Søren Abildgaard.
Customers will begin to feel the effects of the network partnership right away. As part of the agreement, Telenor and Telia are already in the process of giving each other access to existing 2G and 3G positions within the framework of the cellular tower legislation - as well as planning new joint 2G and 3G positions.
"We are making our network even more finely meshed and thus improving the speech and data coverage of both companies, which will directly benefit customers. We will be improving the customer experience month by month, and we are already well underway," conclude Søren Abildgaard and Jon Erik Haug.
Partners in infrastructure, competitors in products
The partnership only covers the radio access network, i.e. the antennas, towers and transmission equipment that establish connections to mobile units. The partnership does not involve the two companies' core networks where their services are produced - the core networks will continue to be operated separately. Telia and Telenor will continue as two independent providers and will in future also compete aggressively for customers through different products, services and prices. Telenor and Telia will report the establishment of the new joint network company to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority.
This is a historic day in the Danish telecom industry. The two largest telecom providers in Scandinavia, Telia and Telenor, have entered into an agreement to share their mobile networks in Denmark. Telia and Telenor will also be establishing a common infrastructure company to build the joint network. The agreement involves the 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE) networks, and ambitions for the agreement are high:
"The decision to merge our network investments and network competencies is a real milestone. Together, we will create Denmark's best mobile network and thereby provide the best customer experience within smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband," say Søren Abildgaard, CEO, Telia, and Jon Erik Haug, CEO, Telenor.
High ambitions in Denmark
With this agreement, the two companies give each other access to existing towers in areas where they would each otherwise have had to build their own. In addition, future new cellular towers will be built jointly by Telenor and Telia. This will reduce both companies' spending on mobile infrastructure while at the same time allowing them to expand the joint network more quickly than they would have been able to do on their own.
"Both Telia and Telenor have high ambitions in Denmark. However, to achieve these ambitions, we need to do two things successfully: We need to provide a world-class customer experience. And we need to secure the scale of our network to ensure that it is also profitable to do business in Denmark in the long term. By sharing networks, we are taking a giant and strategically important step on both fronts, making us even better prepared to face the competition," say Jon Erik Haug and Søren Abildgaard.
Customers will begin to feel the effects of the network partnership right away. As part of the agreement, Telenor and Telia are already in the process of giving each other access to existing 2G and 3G positions within the framework of the cellular tower legislation - as well as planning new joint 2G and 3G positions.
"We are making our network even more finely meshed and thus improving the speech and data coverage of both companies, which will directly benefit customers. We will be improving the customer experience month by month, and we are already well underway," conclude Søren Abildgaard and Jon Erik Haug.
Partners in infrastructure, competitors in products
The partnership only covers the radio access network, i.e. the antennas, towers and transmission equipment that establish connections to mobile units. The partnership does not involve the two companies' core networks where their services are produced - the core networks will continue to be operated separately. Telia and Telenor will continue as two independent providers and will in future also compete aggressively for customers through different products, services and prices. Telenor and Telia will report the establishment of the new joint network company to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority.
Swisscom is one of the five most sustainable telecoms companies in Europe
According to the Verdantix report, Swisscom is one of the five most sustainable telecoms companies in Europe. This is due to a systematically anchored sustainability strategy and a broad range of offerings in the green ICT area. Swisscom already uses renewable resources to cover its entire energy requirements and has also set ambitious sustainability goals for the years to come.
"Swisscom is convinced that ICT plays a key role in sustainable development. The current Verdantix rating motivates us to continue following the path we have set toward being a sustainability leader," says Urs Schaeppi, Head of Swisscom Corporate Business.
"Swisscom is convinced that ICT plays a key role in sustainable development. The current Verdantix rating motivates us to continue following the path we have set toward being a sustainability leader," says Urs Schaeppi, Head of Swisscom Corporate Business.
MTS gears up 3G ready for LTE with Alcatel Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent gears up MTS Russia ready for LTE
he Alcatel-Lucent solution is based on its 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) which offers a highly flexible and easy to operate platform for automated WDM networking to dynamically meet traffic demand evolution. Initially operating at low rates, the MTS network can cost-effectively scale up to 100 Gigabit per second (100G). In addition, it will provide a solid foundation for storage area network deployment.
“To prepare our urban transport network for the challenges of data traffic increase due to development of fixed communication networks, 3G and future LTE introduction we looked for a solution capable to support profitable Internet growth while controlling costs and ensuring a quick return on investments,” said Oleg Larionov, Transport network Director at MTS Group.
Alexander Tikhonov, Head of Alcatel-Lucent’s business in CIS. “Alcatel-Lucent’s state-of-the-art optical transport solution meets the MTS need for meeting bandwidth growth, while optimizing its total cost of ownership and expanding the revenue-generating potential with more dynamic service options.”
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