Vodafone buys stake in Greek broadband operator

Vodafone Greece has entered into a strategic partnership with Greek fixed-line broadband provider Hellas Online Electronic Communications (HOL) that will see the two companies combine their DSL businesses. Vodafone said in a statement that the two firms will jointly market Vodafone's mobile products and services and HOL's fixed-line DSL and telephony services on an exclusive basis.

HOL is one of the leading DSL providers in Greece and had approximately 26 percent market share. HOL also has the largest fibre optic network in Greece, covering around 75 percent of the population. Vodafone is the second-largest mobile operator in Greece and had 6 million customers by 2Q09.
source: GMBB

FCC investigates Apple's rejection of Google Voice

The Federal Communications Commission, the US telecoms regulator, has submitted open letters to Google, Apple and AT&T - the mobile operator that offers Apple's iPhone on an exclusive basis in the US - as part of its recent investigation into open access and handset exclusivity in the country's mobile market. The investigation into the matter follows concerns that Apple may have colluded with AT&T to block a service that threatened to cannibalise the operator's voice revenue.
source: GMBB

France launches bid process for new 3G license

The bidding process for France's long-awaited fourth 3G license was launched by the country's government on Saturday [1st August 2009], with an asking price of EUR240 million. AFP reports that the deadline for candidates to lodge their bids has been fixed at 29 October, with the granting of the license around eight months from that date [by June 2010]. Iliad, parent company of French ISP Free, was quick to welcome launch of the bidding process and said it would be a candidate. Orascom, Virgin Mobile France and Numericable have also been linked to the license.
The EUR240 million asking price is confirmation of earlier reports suggesting the price would be increased from previous estimates of EUR206 million. The original price of EUR206 million was a third of the amount paid by incumbents Orange France, SFR and Bouygues Telecom for their licenses, which came with three times as much spectrum. However, France Telecom (Orange) has said it will contest the price with the European Commission as it feels EUR240 million is still too low.
source: GMBB

Vodafone Signs Partnership Deal in Thailand

[March 2009] Vodafone and Thailand's DTAC have jointly announced that they have signed a Partner Market agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, DTAC will have exclusive access to Vodafone's range of products, devices and services in Thailand and will be able to draw on Vodafone's experience in supply chain management, technology development, the acquisition of enterprise customers as well as improved inter-working between networks.

As part of a phased roll-out, Vodafone will be able to use DTAC's network to offer seamless voice and data roaming for its customers visiting Thailand through the use of ‘home' network capabilities. The two companies will cooperate to provide additional support to Vodafone Global Enterprise customers, many of whom have a presence in Thailand. In turn, Vodafone will provide DTAC customers with improved voice and data roaming access across 67 countries.
source: cellular-news

iPhone OS 3.0 Spurs Boom in WiFi Connections

AT&T, the second largest U.S. wireless carrier said nearly 15 million users connected to their public wireless hotspots last quarter, which is a 41% increase from the previous quarter. One of the major reasons for this is that the iPhone 3.0 software makes it easier for users to log on to AT&T's Wi-Fi at places such as Starbucks, McDonald's, and other public locations.

Prior to the 3.0 software, logging in was considered tedious. Users had to enter a phone number, receive an SMS message, and then click a link in that text message to access the Wi-Fi. The latest firmware automatically detects and logs in iPhone users without the two-step authentication process.

AT&T offers iPhone and BlackBerry users free Wi-Fi at certain public venues, and it is seeing increased interest in this. The company said it has already had 25.6 million Wi-Fi connections for 2009, which already surpasses the 20 million times the service was used in all of 2008. The service also has the added benefit of easing demand on AT&T's 3G network, which many iPhone users have complained about.

AT&T rivals are also using Wi-Fi as a value-add for subscribers, as multiple T-Mobile smartphones can use Wi-Fi as part of the company's HotSpot@Home home-calling service. Verizon is giving its FiOS customers free Wi-Fi access at more than 100,000 hotspots around the world, and Sprint Nextel is requiring its future BlackBerry smartphones to sport Wi-Fi chips.
source: unstrung, informationweek

Bluetooth finds new home in ‘Television 2.0′

LG joins Sharp and Samsung in putting Bluetooth into some TV sets for in-home communications. While Wi-Fi and WirelessHD support transmission of video around the home, shorter range Bluetooth allows handsets to be used as the remote control for home media systems. It also connects wireless headsets to the TV, and streams music from MP3 players to the TV or its speakers.

source: 4Gtrends.com