Vodafone confirms JV plan for India network

The effort should reduce the high costs to Vodafone of building the backbone of a cellular phone network, including towers to transmit signals...
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To speed up its expansion across India, the world’s largest wireless service company, Vodafone Group Plc., is planning on teaming up with other operators to create a joint venture (JV) to operate its networks.
The effort should reduce the high costs to Vodafone of building the backbone of a cellular phone network, including towers to transmit signals, and help reach more people, particularly in rural areas.
The move expands plans Vodafone laid out in February to share its network with India’s largest cellular company, Bharti Airtel Ltd. Now, Vodafone plans to operate those networks via a JV and could include other carriers.
“As we’ve gotten into it, we’re finding that we’ve been able to expand the scope and scale of the venture that we were thinking about,” said the company’s chief executive Arun Sarin in an interview. He declined to say which other companies could join and said it could be a couple of months before deals are finalized.
The move is the latest by the UK-based wireless operator to expand its operations after it made the largest foreign investment in India with its $10.9 billion (Rs44,472 crore in May) acquisition of a majority stake in cellphone firm Hutchison Essar Ltd earlier this year. Analysts and investors are looking for news on how the Indian business is faring on 10 December, when management is scheduled to present an update.
Vodafone, the largest company in the industry by sales, is pushing into high growth markets such as India as its core European markets are increasingly saturated.

source: http://www.livemint.com

Vodafone, Telefonica move into mobile ads: Financial Times

Vodafone Group PLC and Telefonica SA (TEF) have taken stakes in a mobile phones advertising company, as they look for ways to fight back against the incursion of Internet search groups into their territory, reports The Financial Times Wednesday.
The two rival mobile operators have made an undisclosed investment in Amobee, which has begun rolling out its advertising serving platform for mobile search, mobile games and text messages, the report says.
Both companies have begun trials of Amobee's technology - Telefonica through its O2 subsidiary in the U.K. and Vodafone in Spain, Greece and the Czech Republic - but said they had decided to take minority stakes to improve their understanding of a potential future growth source, the report says.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com

Santa Brings 8GB Nokia N95 at Vodafone for Christmas

Vodafone UK is looking forward to bring some shiny new toys to the subscribers that have been good all year long. In the company's handset range for this year's Christmas, Nokia N95 8Gb version is one that will surely attract the interest of many customers out there.

The most promising thing about Vodafone's offer for this
winter is that it brings some really powerful "iPhone killers", with the 8GB version of Nokia N95 and Samsung F700 too. From what it looks like up to this point, the company will not carry Apple's phone in Europe, as they have made no official announcement on it. Still, the fact that no other operator has set the start in making these statements leaves some crumbs of possibility that the initial rumors stating Vodafone as the iPhone's European carrier are not completely washed away.

The first version of Nokia N95 was pretty capable of competing with the iPhone too. Now that the smartphone has boosted some new performances, the chances are that it will also manage to surpass Apple's handset and make up for its lack in Vodafone's offer.

The large 8GB memory space that the iPhone used to bring has been topped by the new black Nokia N95. Still, Apple might not just stand and watch how its phone gets surpassed at its evolved features. Rumors state that the European version of the iPhone will be packed with some impressive 16 GB of internal memory.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com

Vodafone and Nokia Team for Integrated Vodafone Services

Vodafone and Nokia have agreed to launch an integrated suite of Vodafone services combined with Nokia Ovi Services on a range of Nokia handsets.

The services will offer customers a greater choice of communications, Internet services, content and browsing through a range of premium handsets on high speed 3G and 3G broadband networks. Vodafone and Nokia also have agreed that a number of these handsets will be exclusive to Vodafone.

Customers will get faster and easier access to all of Vodafone's Internet and entertainment services as well as all of Ovi from Nokia services on a wide range of handsets. Vodafone customers will be able to access the widest and most attractive choice of Internet services.

Vodafone and Nokia will make it easier to access the Internet quickly at the click of a button. Customers will get the full suite of communications, content, Internet services and browsing, through seamlessly integrated Vodafone services on Nokia handsets.

source:http://www.tradingmarkets.com

Vodafone faces court case in 'bugging' row

Parents believe their son was murdered before he could blow the whistle
Senior British managers of Vodafone are facing a private lawsuit from the family of a former employee who claim that he was murdered to stop him revealing a major phone-tapping scandal.

According to the family's lawyer, the case, which has raised troubling questions about the ability of third parties to eavesdrop on private phone conversations, threatens to highlight the actions of several senior Vodafone employees in the days leading up to the death of 38-year-old Costas Tsalikidis.

The dead man's family fear that Tsalikidis, a technician with Vodafone in Greece, stumbled across a plot to listen in to private conversations of the Greek Prime Minister and a number of other top-ranking officials during the run-up to the Athens Olympics in 2004 and that those who were conducting the bugging operation took steps to silence him.

Tsalikidis's family have never accepted the findings of an inquiry that found he hanged himself, apparently because of pressure of work. They suspect he was poisoned and are now petitioning to have his body exhumed for tests.

The family say Tsalikidis was not the type to take his life and that he was, until the weeks before his death, a happy man looking forward to marrying his fiancee. They say he tried to resign 20 days before his death, but this was rejected by Vodafone. The day before he died, Tsalikidis sent two detailed emails to senior Vodafone employees, the contents of which have never been divulged.

The day after Tsalikidis's death, the head of Vodafone in Greece informed the Prime Minister's office that it had discovered rogue software had been installed on its network, which allowed a third party to listen into conversations. Vodafone says it was alerted to the problem after being tipped off by engineers working for one of its technical suppliers. But despite an official inquiry the identity of those who perpetrated the phone-taps has never emerged. The inquiry found that the private conversations of some of Greece's most important politicians and officials, conducted on more than 100 mobile phones, had been sent to 'shadow' mobile phones and recorded on computers. Experts have been able to pinpoint the locations of many of the shadow phones which, it is claimed, correlate to a number of properties rented by the US government.

Spendometer for Mobile Phone Users in UK to Manage their Budget

Spending a lot of money has always been a problem for most of us to control. We are so engrossed in our day-to-day work that we tend to forget to manage our budget.

Now here’s a solution. Spendometer is a new device that keeps a check on our expenditure. UK-based website, moneybasics.co.uk, provides the Spendometer to free the users from debt via mobile phone.

Spendometer allows mobile phone users to budget their outgoing. With this innovative device, handset owners can keep track of their maximum weekly spending that are divided into categories that includes lunch, clothes and alcohol.

All you need to do is enter the amount of money spent with the mentioned category, later the gadget sends a text message alert on your phone whenever you exceed your spending limits.

“By making money management easy with mobile phones, we hope to help millions to keep better control of their money,” Scotsman quoted Malcolm Hurlston, chairman of the charity Credit Action.

However, it is not clear whether the Spendometer targets the cash payment or even the credit card payment or both. According to me this device will surely be useful for young people who spend a lot. It is accessible only to UK mobile phone users.

Source:http://www.techgadgets.in

Vodafone InsideOut arrives in Second Life

It’s all about social networking nowadays. Both carriers and handset makers are eagerly adding support for various social services to their offerings/phones.

And now, we have Vodafone introducing a new service called “InsideOut,” allowing users to interact with characters from Second Life right from their mobile phones. Just like with most of the modern services, right on the launch it’s in beta and is therefor free. However, the free period ends on November 30th, when the carrier may start charging up to 300 L$ per minute/message.

In the meantime, while enjoying a free calls to Second Life users, Vodafone won’t be providing you with any support… More information is available on Vodafone’s InsideOut website.

Source:http://www.intomobile.com/

3G iPhone headed to Vodafone in Q1 2008?

Here we go again. The latest 3G iPhone rumor points to Vodafone as the exclusive carrier for the next-gen iPhone with high-speed wireless data. Italian website Morse.IT claims to have spoken with high-level Vodafone sources that seems to indicate that Apple and Vodafone have signed an exclusive iPhone deal. Seeing as how Vodafone is currently backing a German court’s decision to force T-Mobile to give up iPhone exclusivity in Germany, we’re betting that the Vodafone iPhone deal doesn’t concern the EDGE-only iPhone. Could Vodafone’s move to force T-Mobile to give up iPhone exclusivity have been a negotiation tactic to secure the UMTS-addled iPhone for Vodafone’s networks all over Europe?

The 3G iPhone is rumored to be hitting Vodafone’s network in Q1 2008, which is pretty much in line with rumors that a 3G iPhone could hit Europe by May of 2008. We’re hearing that the 3G iPhone will launch simultaneously in all countries where Vodafone has a carrier-presence, but the announcement won’t be made until after the holidays - in order to prevent cannibalizing current iPhone holiday-sales. Could we see Apple and Vodafone bow the 3G iPhone at MacWorld Expo 2008? We’re crossing our fingers.

Verizon and Vodafone create a new service for multi-national organizations

Vodafone and Verizon have created a new service to appeal to the multi-national organizations and their “worldy” needs. The new “best-in-class” offering is designed to provide customers with a “consistent approach to products and pricing” under a single contract for the whole world.

The way I see it, the two carriers will ship as many BlackBerry World Edition devices as humanly possible to the multi-national corporations, along with the appropriate data plans. Or, they’ll provide them with two handsets — one with the CDMA (for the U.S.) and the other with the GSM radio (for the rest of the world).

Commenting on the announcement deputy CEO of Vodafone Group - Vittorio Colao said, “This unique Vodafone Verizon Wireless offer delivers more predictability and consistency to the communications needs of international businesses. It provides our customers with a single point of contact that makes it easier to do business with both companies. We are confident that this cooperation will provide immediate benefits to our customers and set a new standard in enterprise account management.”

Source: http://www.intomobile.com

Vodafone UK Retention Strategy: Cut Off Callers

Are you getting lots of customers calling to cancel their service so they can switch to other providers? Try Vodafone UK's response: cut them off before they get anywhere.

Whenever one tries to nagivate Voda's phone system to the relevant department, an automated message will tell you to call later and end the call, according to reports. It's been "experiencing a fault" since a certain competitor hit the market late last week — but only if you want to cancel your account.

The only way to get there is to choose another option, and then ask customer services to put you through. Magic! They'll argue with you, but the Inquirer reports that the retention drones don't have an answer on their scripts if you tell them you want an iPhone because "I'm just an Apple fanboy."

Source:http://blog.wired.com

Sony Ericsson K850i now available on Vodafone UK

Vodafone’s coming soon page reveals their potential and existing users can already get Sony Ericsson’s latest Cyber-shot phone - Sony Ericsson K850i. In addition, we see two Nokia devices there — Nokia 6500 classic, the stylish candybar feature phone; but also the N81, NGage’s flagship device. Finally, let’s not forget the Sony Ericsson W910i which is also coming as part of the carrier’s Christmas collection.

Vodafone will certainly have something for everyone. Still we can’t wait for O2’s first iPhone numbers and see how that compares with Vodafone’s sales…

Source:http://www.intomobile.com

Vodafone sees acquisitions in next 12 months

BARCELONA, Nov 15 - Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone Group Plc, told investors on Thursday that the British-based mobile phone giant was likely to secure fresh acquisitions in the next 12 months.

Speaking at the annual Morgan Stanley investor conference in the Spanish city of Barcelona, Sarin reiterated that he saw "a couple" of acquisition opportunities in Asia and in Africa.

"You shouldn't be surprised to see things happening for us there in the coming year," he added.

But Sarin declined to be drawn on speculation that Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company by revenue, was eying a 25 percent stake in the mobile operations of Telekom Malaysia .

He said only: "We are all grown up enough to know you should not believe everything you read in the press."

Sarin emphasized that Vodafone continued to pursue investments that would allow it, over time, to gain control -- although he noted that a "very strong" dividend stream might also focus Vodafone's attention in "some circumstances".

Vodafone rolls out EDGE in the UK...

Vodafone UK has confirmed to Pocket-lint that it slowly rolling out EDGE across its network in the Vodafone UK. However before you go looking for the official announcement from the mobile operator, there isn’t one and there won’t be, Pocket-lint has found out.

According to our source within the company, the EDGE network, which promises faster data speeds for phones that are EDGE compatible, will only be available when current 2G base stations need replacing.

Our source insisted however that the company isn’t planning on a national rollout to complete against O2.So far Pocket-lint has found EDGE connectivity on the Vodafone network in Southampton and Nottingham.

EDGE-enabled phones, including the iPhone can use the service to get slightly faster connectivity that GPRS.

"A leading edge connected camera, navigation device and multimedia computer in one"

Nokia has officially unveiled the Nokia N82, describing it as "the latest multimedia computer optimized for photography, navigation and internet connectivity".

Featuring A-GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, Xenon flash, Carl Zeiss optics and internet connectivity, Nokia says the new offering also incorporates all the "multimedia computer features" common to Nokia Nseries.

A-GPS and preinstalled Nokia Maps will be backed up with a free voice guided navigation trial, depending on region, and users can buy additional features, such as city guides and longer subscription to the navigation.

With a 5-mega pixel camera, Xenon flash and Carl Zeiss optics, Nokia claims the N82 delivers remarkably vivid photographs, even in low-light conditions, often a complaint with camera phones.

Source:http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/11283/12307/Nokia-N82-sees-official-launch.phtml

Internet and e-mail access is a net gain for Vodafone

MILLIONS of people using their mobile phones to access the internet and e-mail have helped Vodafone post an increased interim profit and dividend.

Shares in the group rose more than 7 per cent as it increased its profit and revenue forecast for the full year.

The British-based mobile phone provider said sales of messages and data had increased by £300 million to £2.4 billion at its slow-growing but highly profitable European division, more than offsetting a fall in revenues from calls and roaming charges.

Vodafone uk said it now had 21 million third-generation devices in operation, a 92 per cent increase year-on-year, helped in particular by e-mail capable devices such as Blackberries.

Total data sales increased 45.1 per cent year-on-year. While data sales still only represented a small part of total revenue, Vodafone said it saw major growth potential.

Source:http://business.scotsman.com/technology.cfm?id=1800242007