Croatia to set new tender for mobile license after Tele2 bid rejected
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Croatia will call a new international tender for a third mobile telecommunications license after authorities refused an offer from a Croatian-Swedish consortium.
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Slovenian Prime Minister Anton Rop told Reuters in Ljubljana on 23 September that his country might "not allow any further procedures regarding Croatia's accession to the EU." He added that Croatia must "accept ...
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The European Parliament  called on Monday for binding rules to regulate the bloc&#39;s  online music market and protect less powerful artists, but the  proposal was rejected by the bloc&#39;s executive.
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A second round of bidding for two remaining high-speed third-generation (3G) mobile phone licenses in Malaysia may start soon, a report said.
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EU leaders are set to offer Croatia a start date for entry talks - but Zagreb is required to hand over war crimes suspects.
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The EU parliament appears likely to reject incoming European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso&#39;s choice of commissioners tomorrow after he refused to make concessions.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.K. is considering letting mobile phone operators run 3G (third-generation) services on frequencies reserved for 2G services, a change that could mean better 3G coverage and lower costs for the public, the government's telecommunications regulator said Thursday. The move by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) follows the expected relaxation of a longstanding European Union (E.U.) restriction on how certain frequencies could be used. A consultation period started on Thursday and runs through Nov. 29. Other European countries are undertaking similar moves to liberalize their 2G spectrums, according to a spokesman for the GSM Association (GSMA), a trade group for mobile phone operators. A 1987 E.U. directive restricted use of the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrums second-generation services based on the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard, which at the time was intended to foster growth of mobile communications across Europe by ensuring a large market for common hardware. The European Commission has proposed allowing 3G in those spectrum ranges: It says the original directive is now stalling growth of 3G services. The proposal should become policy by the end of the year once it is approved by the European Parliament and the E.U. Council of Ministers, according to the Commission. Operators across Europe have been running 3G services in the 2100MHz frequency band for several years. But opening up the 900MHz spectrum is key, as the lower frequencies allow better penetration of buildings, Ofcom said. The signals also carry further, so in rural areas fewer mobile phone masts are necessary: Ofcom estimates that high-quality mobile broadband Internet services could be provided with 10,000 fewer sites per operator. In turn, consumers should see lower costs for 3G services, the Commission has said. Finland and France are already trialing 3G services in the 900MHz band, the GSMA spokesman said. Market analyst Ovum estimates 300 million people will have 3G connections in Western Europe by 2012 if 3G is deployed at 900MHz and 2100MHz. That's compared to only 235 million connections if 3G is restricted to only 2100MHz. About 50 million have access to 3G today. Operators will likely want to continue using the 2100MHz band, as it has a higher traffic capacity than the 900MHz band, and so is better for urban areas where there are more users. In the U.K., Vodafone Group and O2 (UK)Â use the 900 MHz spectrum but only for 2G services. Ofcom is suggesting letting the other operators, Three, run by Hutchison 3G UK; T-Mobile International; and Orange, to have access to that band. The spectrum would be auctioned, with Ofcom awarding licenses as soon as 2009 and services starting by 2010, the regulator said. Ofcom is also looking at removing some technology-specific restrictions from the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands, which could happen next year.
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Mumbai, Sep 21 (PTI) In a new turn to the legal wrangling over the telecast rights of Indian cricket team&#39;s matches at home in next four years, the cricket board today told the Bombay High Court that it had cancelled the tender awarded to Zee Telefilms
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Magnate studia offerta per la divisione italiana di Tele 2
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Court should not have blocked the company&#39;s Sprint takeover bid after the merger was abandoned. LUXEMBOURG  - The European Commission made a bad call when it blocked a takeover bid by US telecoms
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(InfoWorld) - Vodafone has begun offering new fees and features to stir demand for mobile Internet services as competition hits the company's profits from voice services. Two of the group's largest subsidiaries, Germany's Vodafone D2 GmbH and Vodafone Ltd. in the U.K., announced new mobile data offerings on Wednesday with subsidiaries in several other markets planning customized packages of their own, according to Vodafone Group spokesman Mark Street. "Pricing for these new mobile Internet services will be on a market by market basis, and it will be up to each market to decide on features," Street said. "But what I can say is that as a group, we're looking at prices that are predictable and transparent and services that offer value for their money." The move comes as Vodafone, which has been facing tough competition from low-cost mobile phone operators, seeks new revenue streams to offset falling prices from its traditional cash-cow voice service. It has also been prompted by mobile Internet services, such as T-Mobile International AG's Web n' Walk, designed for quick, easy, and competitively priced mobile phone surfing. As of July 15, Vodafone customers in Germany can subscribe to the new mobile Internet service, called "Handy 2.0," available for a flat monthly fee of â¬9.95 ($13.44) . The service uses the open-source Opera mobile phone browser, which formats content for easy viewing on small displays, according to Vodafone D2 spokeswoman Bettina Donges. "Handy 2.0 will be like a PC experience," Donges said. "You'll be able to surf all around the Net with your mobile phone, the pages will be compiled fast, and they'll be easy to read." The new flat-rate Internet offering, however, doesn't apply to VoIPÂ applications, according to Donges. Vodafone will not support mobile VoIP service until it can guarantee quality service, Street said. In addition, Vodafone has struck Internet partnerships with eBay, Google, YouTube, and MySpace.com to provide services specially tailored for mobile phones. Customers access the Internet service through the Vodafone Live mobile portal. The portal service is included in the various bundled minute packages available from the German operator. Initially, several handsets, including the Nokia N73 and N95, the Motorola V3 and V980, and the Samsung Zv60 and D900i, will support the Handy 2.0 service, but other phones will be added over time. In the U.K., Vodafone is launching a similar service that takes Web pages designed for PCs and makes them easy to read on handsets. The Vodafone Mobile Internet offerings also includes partnerships with eBay, Google, YouTube, and MySpace as well as Yahoo. Analysts see a couple of advantages to the partnerships. By collaborating with these brands, Vodafone not only gives customers a better experience of using their Internet services on their phones but will also benefit from advertising revenue opportunities, according to John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum Ltd. One slight difference between the German and U.K. offering is the price: U.K. customers who sign up for a data pack pay Â£7.50 ($14.90 ) per month for 120MB of data, which is equivalent to four hours of viewing YouTube or up to 160 mobile Internet pages every day for a month. Other customers are charged per kilobyte, up to a Â£1 per day for 500KB, with no additional charge unless the day's usage exceeds 15MB.
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German industrial group MAN AG   MANG.DE made a 9.6 billion euros ($12.2 billion)   cash-and-share offer for Scania AB SCVb.ST, which the Swedish   truckmaker and a key shareholder immediately rejected on   Monday.
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ERICSSON Australia Pty Ltd was chosen to supply and service Telstra Corp Ltds 3G mobile capacity for the next five years. The agreement involved contracts worth more than $100 million to develop the Telstra
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MILAN Telecom Italia will approve a plan Tuesday to buy the 44 percent it does not already own of the mobile phone unit Telecom Italia Mobile in a deal valued at about â¬20 billion, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
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Telecom Italia SPA's board approved a plan Tuesday to offer about &#36;19.5 billion for most of the 44 percent stake it doesn't already control of the mobile phone unit Telecom Italia Mobile SPA.
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The UK could face a new 3G licence auction after Ofcom on Thursday announced plans to take some of the radio spectrum held by mobile phone operators Vodafone and  O2, and use it for higher speed services.
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Qatar received bids from seven of 12  qualified companies and groups for the Gulf Arab state&#39;s second  mobile phone license, the telecom regulator said on Tuesday.