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

BenQ to Shut Down Siemens Mobile Phone Biz in Germany

Taiwan-based BenQ has announced that it is planning to shut down the German mobile phone business of electronics giant Siemens, which it recently acquired. BenQ also has decided to end investment in its own German mobile phone offshoot, BenQ Mobile, due to the unit’s weak performance in the intensely competitive global mobile phone market.

Source- http://www.technewsworld.com

Siemens Considers `Legal’ Steps Against Benq Over Phone Unit

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) — Siemens AG, which sold its mobile- phone division to Benq Corp. last year, said it may take legal steps against Benq after the Taiwanese company decided to stop funding its German handset unit to stem losses.

“Under the given circumstances Siemens will examine its legal position against Benq,” Siemens Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld said today in an e-mailed statement. Munich- based Siemens is Germany’s largest engineering company.

Siemens, which sold its first mobile phone two decades ago, decided last October to pay Benq 250 million euros ($316 million) to take on the unit after losses mounted and its market share shrank. Benq Mobile GmbH & Co., the German handset unit of Taipei-based Benq, filed for insolvency protection today, the division’s spokesman Stefan Mueller said by telephone.

“For Siemens, the continuation of the German locations was an important factor behind the decision by Benq to be a buyer” of the Siemens operations, Kleinfeld said. The executive, who didn’t elaborate on what legal steps Siemens may take, doesn’t understand why the Benq division needs to file for bankruptcy protection, it said.

Benq’s German cellular phone unit, with offices in the cities of Munich and Bocholt and a factory in Kamp-Lintfort, employs about 3,000 workers. Benq is Taiwan’s biggest mobile phone maker.

`Responsibilities’

Juergen Ruettgers, the prime minister in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, today led Benq Mobile workers in a protest against Benq and Siemens at the factory in the town of Kamp-Lintfort.

“Siemens still has responsibilities for Kamp-Lintfort,” Ruettgers said in a broadcast on the N24 television channel.

Benq, based in Taipei, estimates its handset division has lost 600 million euros since the takeover of the Siemens unit. Siemens also bought a 2.5 percent stake in Benq for 50 million euros.

“The insolvency administrator is on its way to our company and will be introduced to employees this afternoon,” Benq Mobile spokesman Mueller said.

Shares of Benq rose by their daily limit of 7 percent to NT$19.45 in Taipei. The stock has dropped almost 40 percent this year on concern the company may face greater losses from the unit.

Shares of Siemens rose 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, to 68.85 euros as of 2:37 p.m. in Frankfurt.

Source- http://www.bloomberg.com

China Unicom, SK Telecom eye massive mobile phone

China Unicom and SK Telecom agreed to jointly buy millions of mobile phones betting the two companies’ increased purchasing power will reduce costs.

 

The two mobile phone operators are negotiating to buy mobile phones from Motorola, Samsung, and LG Electronics, Seoul-based SK Telecom said in a statement.

 

The mobile phones will be offered to both companies’ customers during the first half of next year, the statement said.

 

SK Telecom, the world’s first provider of third-generation mobile services, joins Spain’s Telefonica and the UK’s Vodafone Group in trying to access a market that has more mobile phone users than the combined populations of the US and Japan.

 

Beijing-based China Unicom will use the partnership to boost buying power and tap SK Telecom’s experience providing 3G service.

 

“This is pretty positive for China Unicom in the long-term; it means more purchasing power,” said Judy Zhang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Research in Hong Kong.

China Unicom and SK Telecom plan to initially buy six types of mobile phones, with orders for each model ranging from 300,000 to 500,000 mobile phones, according to the statement.

 

In July, SK Telecom, Korea’s largest cell phone operator, bought $1 billion of bonds convertible into a 6.7% stake of the Chinese company.

 

China’s number of mobile users is expected to rise to 568.1 million in 2010, according to US researcher IDC.

China had 437.5 million cell phone subscribers at the end of August, according to government data, compared with South Korea’s 38 million.

About 30% of China’s 1.3 billion people own mobile phones, compared with
South Korea’s 80%.

 

 

Source- http://www.telecomasia.net

Jajah brings VoIP to mobiles

Jajah has launched a UK service offering cut-price mobile phone calls, by routing most of the call over the internet using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology.

The idea of dialling a local number and from there being routed cheaply around the world is not new, and there are several companies who have been operating such services for years. But the majority of customers just want to dial a number and be connected, ideally at a cheap rate – they will suffer more expensive calls for the simplicity of direct dialling.

Jajah offers that same user experience by providing a Symbian application which the user runs and then dials normally. They are connected and proceed with their call, hopefully unaware that the majority of the routing is being done over the internet.

The application actually contacts the Jajah server over a data connection, and the server then makes the connection to the number dialled and calls the user back. The call is answered by the application; keeping the user experience identical to making a normal call.

Those without a Symbian handset (or with a Series 60 version 3 handset) can send an SMS to set up the call, or use their WAP browser. Jajah also provides a Java application for some handsets, but none of these options provides the simplicity of experience which sets Jajah apart from alternative services.

The real advantage comes with international calls, where the internet can be used for the long-distance routing, reducing the cost. The Jajah rates aren’t as cheap as some services which do require special numbers, but are generally cheaper than just dialling the number.

Even if most of the call is routed over the internet, both ends are still carried over the traditional telephone network. This makes the service easier to use, both in terms of interfacing and technical complexity, but means it can’t be quite as cheap as VoIP from end-to-end. ®

Source- http://www.theregister.co.uk

BenQ gives up on German mobile operations

BenQ has decided to stop funding losses at its German mobile phone subsidiary and is considering filing for insolvency for the unit. BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co has operations in Munich, Bocholt and Kamp-Lintfort in Germany, which “may be affected” by the move, BenQ said without specifying plans for the assets and staff. Recent reports suggested the company is considering outsourcing production. The company confirmed it is also reviewing the financial position of mobile subsidiaries in Brazil and other locations. The Taiwanese company has decided to scale back the mobile operation to its manufacturing and R&D operations in Asia, with branded products sold only in selected markets. The German operations, acquired from Siemens, have been consistently loss-making, with BenQ recently pushing back the expected breakeven date to mid-2007. The company now says that despite the progress in the past year in cost-cutting, the decision to discontinue the operation is “unavoidable”.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com

EasyMobile Germany-125,000 customers in ten months

Mobile discount service provider EasyMobile boasts 125,000 customers just 10 months after start-up in Germany. The business is expected to break even next year, said Henning Vest, president of EasyMobile’s Danish parent company TDC Mobile International. TDC licenced the Easy name from the British EasyGroup which runs budget flights among other services. EasyMobile is marketed as a “no frills provider” and runs largely through the internet with a minimal company structure. The Hamburg-based firm employs just 25 people, most of which work in customer services. The company is also pleased to have attracted customers who accumulate large monthly call volumes. EasyMobile business leader Timo Voswinckel said that 83 percent of customers were so satisfied with the service that they would recommend EasyMobile to others. Easy charges EUR 0.04 a minute to other EasyMobile customers, EUR 0.14 a minute for calls to other networks and EUR 0.12 for SMS.

Source- http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=140809&nr=&type=&yr=