Spanish regulator listens to operators on termination cuts

The Spanish telecoms regulator has softened its proposed cuts on termination rates after operators’ complaints. The CMT had wanted to halve the rates charged by operators when rival operators’ calls finish on their networks. Its proposals would have seen all operators charging EUR 0.06 by 2008 after a progressive series of reductions. At a meeting on 28 September, however, the CMT decided to cut rates between 41 and 47 percent over a period of two, rather than three, years. The new measures start from October and will oblige Telefonica Moviles (Movistar) to cut interconnection prices by 41.52 percent, Vodafone by 42.66 percent and Amena-Orange by 46.76 percent. By September 2009, all three operators will have to charge the same rate of EUR 0.07. The CMT is hoping the termination rate cuts will be passed on to final consumer prices. The Federation of Consumers in Action (FACUA) criticised the CMT’s compromise with operators, saying the final cuts were insufficient. The rates “will continue to exceed the limits set by Brussels to a disproportionate extent”, it said.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com

Siemens: Examines Legal Options On BenQ Unit Insolvency

Siemens said it is examining its legal position against BenQ, following the Taiwanese company’s decision to stop offering financial support to its German mobile operations, which is likely to lead to bankruptcy of the unit.

The continuation of German business was an important consideration when the conglomerate reached a deal to have BenQ produce phones under the Siemens name, the company said.

The continuation of the business in Germany was an important factor in Siemens’ decision to sell the mobile operations to BenQ, the company said.

Thus Siemens agreed that BenQ could use the Siemens brand-name for up to five years.

In the past, Siemens only agreed to the use of its brand name in exceptional cases in long-term partnerships, such as in the joint venture Fujitsu-Siemens Computers.

In addition, Siemens said it gave considerable finance to BenQ for patent investment and transferring the IT-infrastructure.

Both parties’ intentions for the long-term operation of Siemens former mobile business, isn’t reflected in the current situation, Siemens said.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

SonaeCom Accepts AdC Terms But Says Bid Price In Question

LISBON -(Dow Jones)- SonaeCom is willing to accept the conditions imposed by Portugal’s antitrust regulator on its planned takeover of Portugal Telecom but says its initial EUR9.5-a-share offer is now in question, a company board member said.

SonaeCom board members were speaking at a lunch with journalists following news of the Autoridade da Concorrencia, or AdC’s conditional approval of its bid for Portugal Telecom late Wednesday.

The conditions include SonaeCom’s disposal of either its cable or fixed-line unit, as well as allowing a new operator and MVNOs in the mobile business, SonaeCom revealed in a statement late Wednesday.

The board members said three things have changed since the launch of its bid in February that compromise the offer, which valued Portugal Telecom at EUR11.1 billion.

Firstly, the dividend distributed by Portugal Telecom was EUR0.09 higher than the previous year; secondly, first-half earnings were lower than expected, and finally, the AdC conditions are stricter that the company had foreseen.

However, the board members present at the lunch were unwilling to address the price issue until the AdC’s final ruling is disclosed, which should take place in the next 10 days.

SonaeCom said the AdC’s conditions are no surprise but that the company didn’t expect them all at once.

“In a way, SonaeCom is paying for the opening of telecommunications market, which is understandable, but it will cost us,” a board member said, without giving further detail.

The main condition from the AdC is the disposal of either its cable or fixed-line unit but it has not yet made up it’s mind. “At this point, it is indifferent to us.”

SonaeCom plans to put both units up for sale and see which one fetches the higher price. The AdC will have the last word on the buyer.

Asked about whether the bid is likely to go ahead without resistance, one board member said he doesn’t believe in minority-block or counterbid scenarios since “SonaeCom’s offer is difficult to match.”

Banco Espirito Santo, the biggest domestic shareholder of Portugal Telecom, has been reported to be interested in siding with a rival bid but has denied being in the process of organizing a blocking minority in Portugal Telecom.

“We’re happy to be in the game and we don’t like to lose,” says the same source.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

RIM revenues rise 34% to USD 659 million

Research in Motion reported revenues for the fiscal second quarter to 2 September up 34.4 percent form a year ago to USD 658.5 million. There were around 705,000 BlackBerry users added in the quarter for a total 6.2 million. Net profit for the quarter totalled USD 140.8 million. RIM forecast revenues of USD 780-800 million for the fiscal third quarter, with around 800,000 BlackBerry subscribers added. The quarterly figures were deemed preliminary as RIM has opened an internal review of stock-options accounting. The company expects that resulting impact on results will be immaterial.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com

Unefon CEO, chairman, board members resign

Mexican mobile operator Unefon has seen its CEO Shalom Manova and all of its board members resign, after Ricardo Salinas Pliego assumed control of over 90 percent of the company’s stock, reports El Universal. Salinas, who owned 44.4 percent of Unefon, acquired the 45.6 percent stake which Moises Saba, who was chairman, and his family owned for USD 300 million. Salinas aims to make a public offer for the rest of the shares of Unefon trading on the Bolsa. Moises Saba has resigned as chairman. The resignations are according to the new shareholder structure, according to a spokesman with Grupo Salinas, holding company controlled by Salinas Pliego. Diego Gerardo Foyo Mejia has been appointed as chairman and CEO of Unefon. Eight board members, including Foyo, have been appointed to replace the outgoing members.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com

NII Holdings, Motorola Extend IDEN Supply Pact For 5 Yrs

NII Holdings late Thursday said it has agreed to extend its supply agreement with Motorola for iDen handsets and network infrastructure for an additional five years, or until the end of 2011.

iDen combines push-to-talk service, with telephone interconnect, short messaging and Internet access.

Under the agreement, NII will raise handset commitments delivered by Motorola at competitive prices, while Motorola will continue to invest in development of new iDEN devices and infrastructure.

Reston, Va.-based NII also said its Nextel Mexico subsidiary has agreed to buy Cosmofrecuencias S.A. de C.V. for $200 million. The deal will provide Nextel Mexico a local concession, as well as cost savings, NII said.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

Australia Fin Min: Telstra Share Offer Opens Oct 23

CANBERRA -(Dow Jones)- The Australian government will open its A$8 billion Telstra share sale on Monday Oct. 23, Finance Minister Nick Minchin said Friday.

Details of the price of the stock and the size of the discount offered to retail investors will be outlined in a prospectus, to be issued on Monday Oct. 9, Minchin said in a statement.

The government is offering Telstra shares, a process dubbed T3, as it divests its remaining 51.8% stake in the telecommunications company.

About A$15 billion of shares will be transferred to the Future Fund, an arm’s length investment vehicle set up to pay future public service pension liabilities, where they will be held in escrow for two years.

Minchin said a A$20 million T3 advertising campaign will begin on Monday Oct. 2.

Also from Oct. 2, investors will be able to reserve a T3 prospectus and a share offer website and telephone hotline will become operational.

Minchin confirmed retail investors will be offered shares at a discount to institutional investors. Investors will pay for T3 shares in two installments over 18 months.

“The price of the first installment and the size of the retail discount will be detailed in the prospectus, along with the benefits and risks of the investment,” Minchin said.

The government also announced eight banks had been appointed to the T3 institutional selling syndicate.

Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Daiwa, JPMorgan, Lehmann Brothers and Morgan Stanley will be co-lead managers, with CommSec, RBC appointed co-managers.

“These eight banks will play a key role in supporting the joint global coordinates of ABN Amro, Goldman Sachs JBWere and UBS for the Telstra sale in selling shares to domestic and international institutions,” Minchin said.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

GMO Targets China Mobile Content Leadership

Malaysian company GMO (listed on London’s AIM) has acquired a 20% stake in China’s Wisdom Choice Investments for RM60.42 million in a move that will enable it to gain entry to China’s mobile content market. “GMO also has the option to acquire the remaining stake in Wisdom Choice for RM349.23 million by Feb 15, 2007, by cash or GMO shares issue but conditional upon the latter achieving a pre-tax profit of RM35 million for its year ending Dec 31, 2006.”
“GMO chief executive officer Eugene Goh said its plan was to make Wisdom Choice a subsidiary and, together with another GMO unit Beijing Hongxun Communication Technology Co Ltd, they would provide mobile content to 31 provinces in China…”We believe we can achieve a market share of 10% to 15%. Right now the number one company is Sina.com, which has a 15% to 20% market share, but we are aiming to be the number one player by end-2007 and, with this acquisition, we are close to being on par with them.”
Source- http://www.moconews.net

Vodafone Questions AdC Conditional SonaeCom/PT Merger OK

LISBON -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone’s Portugal unit on Friday said it’s against the conditional approval of the merger between Portugal Telecom and SonaeCom granted by Portugal’s antitrust authority Autoridade da Concorrencia, or AdC.

Vodafone Portugal is the third operator in the country, after Sonaecom’s mobile unit Optimus and PT’s mobile unit TMN, and stands to be most affected, as the merger would create a company with a mobile communications market share of more than 60%.

“Vodafone Portugal disagrees and regrets the antitrust regulator’s conditional approval of the SonaeCom/PT merger in the proposed framework,” the company said in a statement. The AdC’s conditions pack, disclosed late Wednesday, include SonaeCom’s disposal of either its cable or fixed-line unit, as well as allowing a new operator and mobile virtual network operators, or MVNO, in the mobile business.

However, it will allow merging Sonaecom’s mobile unit Optimus with TMN.

“It does not make any sense to introduce a strict and artificial set of rules in the mobile sector, to justify the creation of a company with a dominant position,” Vodafone’s statement adds.

Sonaecom made an unsolicited EUR9.5-a-share bid for its larger rival Portugal Telecom in February, valuing the company at EUR11.1 billion.

Source- http://www.cellular-news.com

Xero Mobile Sold, To Newly Formed Company

I’m not an expert in these matters, but this sounds fishy… much maligned incipient MVNO Xero Mobile has signed a deal to be sold to a newly formed company, Advanced Mobile Communications, for an “an undisclosed amount of newly issued shares of common stock of Advanced Mobile”. Also, “the Xero spokesman declined to say whether Xero’s management was otherwise involved with Advanced Mobile”. Xero’s management has been criticised due to ties to failed game console startup Gizmondo, and Xero has already been investigated by the SEC. To me, it doesn’t sound like anything much has changed (particularly doubts about the business model), and the market seems to agree with shares in the MVNO remaining about the same.

Source- http://www.moconews.net