Europe Intelligence Wire articles from August 2007

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from August 2007

Portugal - Portugal Telecom asked to prepare Naked DSL offer.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Portuguese regulator Anacom has requested that PT Comunicacoes upgrade its PT ADSL network offer to include Naked DSL (NDSL) by 31 October. Naked DSL is a wholesale model that allows ADSL to be offered to...

Germany - Cellular develops mobile version of POPSTARS show.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile applications developer Cellular is developing a mobile version of the POPSTARS on Stage casting show for SevenOne Intermedia, a subsidiary of broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Group. The mobile version of...

Czech Republic - Volny launches IPTV service in Prague and Brno.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Czech alternative operator Volny has launched the new Volny TV fixed-line digital TV service. The basic package includes a set-top box and costs CZK 297 including VAT. It offers around 40 TV stations, movie...

Spain - Jazztel rings up 635 mln minutes in wholesale.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Spanish operator Jazztel said its wholesale division had sold 635 million minutes of national, international and mobile calls in the first half of the year. In a statement, the operator said the result was due to...

Bulgaria - M-Tel Bulgaria boosts 3G HSPA network speed.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Bulgarian mobile operator Mobiltel (M-Tel) has upgraded the speed of its 3G UMTS HSPA mobile broadband network in Sofia to a maximum 7.2 Mbps. The rest of the 3G network still offers a download speed of 3.6 Mbps....

Netherlands - EuNetworks delivers hostnex solution to Caveo.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) European network operator euNetworks has concluded an agreement with Dutch ISP Caveo Internet. Under the terms of the agreement, euNetworks will provision hostnex, an integrated solution comprising co-location...

Netherlands - Copyright fund abandons cultural donations.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Dutch copyright protection group Stichting de Thuiskopie has decided to shut down its fund for making donations to cultural projects. The group is responsible for distributing the levy collected on blank...

Spain - ONO increases EBITDA 17% to EUR 160 million.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Spanish cable operator ONO posted a 17 percent rise in second-quarter EBITDA to EUR 160 million. Revenue rose 0.7 percent to EUR 410 million. In a statement, ONO's chief financial officer said the results were...

Belgium - Proximus expands countries on Vodafone Passport.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Belgian mobile operator Proximus is expanding the number of countries where its Vodafone Passport roaming offer is available to 25. Passport offers calls at the same price as in Belgium, plus a one-time fee of...

Hungary - Pannon extends 3G HSDPA network, unveils promotion.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Hungarian mobile operator Pannon has extended its 3G HSDPA network to more large towns and villages around Lake Balaton, boosting total coverage to 71 towns and villages. Pannon is offering three mobile internet...

Spain - Mobile TV in Madrid, Barcelona by early 2009 - report.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Mobile customers in Madrid and Barcelona should be able to watch at least 16 channels of television on their handsets by early 2009, reports La Gaceta de los Negocios. The paper said it had seen the conditions...

Europe - Brightpoint completes Dangaard takeover.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Mobile handset distributor Brightpoint has completed the takeover of Denmark's Dangaard Telecom. Brightpoint issued 30 million new shares worth USD 385 million to Dangaard, paid USD 100,000 and assumed Dangaard's...

Switzerland - Solnet offers 15 Mbps VDSL for CHF 69 to consumers.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Swiss ISP Solnet offers VDSL for residential users for CHF 69 with 15 Mbps as maximum download speed and 1 Mbps as maximum upload speed. SolNet VDSL Home further includes 25 e-mail addresses, anti-virus and spam...

France - Motorola plans French GPS launch in September.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Motorola will launch its Motonav GPS products on 1 September in France, according to the head of the company's automotive and navigation division, Yannick Bourdin. In an interview with mobinaute.com, the...

Romania - Romanian regulator opens bids for telecentres.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Romania's National Regulatory Authority for Communications and Information Technology (ANRCTI) has opened offers submitted for installation of telecentres in 131 rural villages. The tender was launched in June....

Spain - Orange has 1.1 million customers thanks to Ya.com.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange says its purchase of Spanish Internet provider Ya.com increases its customer base to 1.1 million, giving it an 18 percent share of the Spanish market, reports Cinco Dias. The company has said the buying of...

Ukraine - Life:) launches cellphone for two SIM cards.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Ukrainian mobile network life:) has launched a new promotion for customers using more than one SIM card, offering a mobile phone for two SIM cards. This allows customers to stay in touch simultaneously with both...

France - Sony Ericsson to pre-install Bob Sinclair album on W580i.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Sony Ericsson France will offer the Walkman W580i handset at the end of August with Bob Sinclair's Soundz of Freedom album pre-installed, writes france mobiles. The quad-band EDGE phone is only 14 mm thick and...

Ireland - Interxion to host Piczo social network community in Ireland.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Interxion, provider of premium carrier-neutral data centre and managed services in Europe, has been chosen by US-based social networking community Piczo to host its online community at its data centre in Dublin,...

Spain - Yoigo, Vodafone biggest winners of June portability.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Spain's fourth mobile operator Yoigo was the biggest winner in June of portability, said the CMT. The company, run by Scandinavian operator TeliaSonera, which launched in December, gained 6,600 customers from...

Germany - PhoneHomeMobile offers low-cost international tariffs.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German ISP DNW has launched a mobile service called PhoneHomeMobile via German MVNE vistream's reseller service. PhoneHomeMobile targets low-cost international calls with its prepaid service offering a minute fee...

Netherlands - Consumers union wants govt action on mobile data costs.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Dutch consumers union has called for the government to intervene over the high prices for mobile internet use. The union has received numerous complaints from consumers about unexpected bills of hundreds of...

France - French telecoms revenues up 1.8% in first quarter - Arcep.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) France's fixed telephony, internet and mobile telephony markets were worth EUR 9.6 billion in the first quarter of 2007, up 1.8 percent in one year, according to telecommunication regulator Arcep. IP telephony,...

Germany - MoobiCent offers new version of Vodafone PC Express Card.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile broadband service provider MoobiCent has started offering a new version of the Vodafone PC Express Card. The new card enables MoobiCent user to access internet with their laptops via HSDPA with a...

Spain - Telefonica wins 50% of new mobile customers in June.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Spain's dominant operator Telefonica captured 49.6 percent of new mobile customers in June, said regulator the CMT. Its biggest rival Vodafone captured 14.8 percent of new custom while Orange captured 15.8...

Europe - Eutelsat wants to help ESA, EC with Galileo - CEO.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) European satellite services provider has offered itself as partner for the European satellite navigation project Galileo, according to Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta in an interview with the Financial Times...

Spain - Telefonica strong in ADSL in June, cable operators suffer.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Spain's ex-monopoly Telefonica captured 71.2 percent of new broadband customers in the country in June, according to the latest data from the CMT. In May, it got 61 percent of new customers, said the regulator....

Benelux - Versatel revenues rise 75% in Q2.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Benelux operator Versatel reported second-quarter revenues of EUR 182 million, up 75 percent from a year earlier on the back of its merger with Tele2's Dutch and Belgian operations. On an organic basis,...

France - Free opens TV service to all ADSL subscribers.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) French ISP Free has announced that all of its ADSL subscribers can now access a TV channel package from its portal, as long as they have an eligible line. The service is accessible in unbundled and non-unbundled...

France - Orange France launches prepaid packs with six football clubs.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange France is launching a new prepaid mobile offer in partnership with six top football clubs on 2 August. Fans of AS Saint-Etienne, Olympique Lyonnais, Olympique Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, Racing Club de...

France - French internet users up 12 percent in one year - study.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) France's internet users rose by 12 percent in one year as 30.65 million people aged 11 and more (58.3% of this age group) went online in June this year compared with 27.29 million (52.3%) in June 2006, according...

France - Free only bidder for France's fourth 3G licence.
August 1, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Free Mobile, wholly owned subsidiary of Iliad, was the only company to apply for France's fourth 3G mobile network licence by the deadline of mid-day on 31 July, writes telecommunications regulator Arcep. Thus...

Italy - EU tells Agcom to cut 3 Italia termination rates further.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The EU Telecom Commission has asked the Italian regulatory authority Agcom to further reduce its proposed cap on mobile termination rates for H3G Italy. It also requested Agcom to finalise the second round of its...

Europe - EC says high level of compliance with roaming price caps.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The European Commission has opened a website to highlight compliance with the new roaming price caps which took effect at the start of July. A survey of mobile operators shows that the broad majority are...

Finland - Elektrobit posts Q2 net loss of EUR 6.4 million.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Elektrobit reported a net loss from continuing operations of EUR 6.4 million for the second quarter, versus a profit of EUR 1.3 million a year earlier. The company's sales increased 5.9 percent to EUR 33.5...

Bulgaria - M-Tel Bulgaria launches mobile payment service.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Bulgarian mobile operator Mobiltel (M-Tel) has launched the M-Tel Quick Pay financial service, developed jointly with Datamax. The service allows M-Tel customers to make payments using their mobile phones and...

Poland - TP announces PLZ 45 mln, PLZ 40.70 mln bond issues.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telekomunikacja Polska (TP) issued bonds with an aggregate par value of PLZ 45 million on 31 July. PTK Centertel acquired PLZ 20 million of bonds with a redemption date of 31 August, PLZ 15 million of bonds with...

Turkey - Consumers union opposes new Turk Telekom prices.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Turkish consumers union has announced plans to again challenge price changes at national fixed operator Turk Telekom. Earlier this year the union succeeded in a court challenge in blocking planned price hikes...

Netherlands - Hyves surpasses Google in Dutch page views.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The social networking site Hyves appears to have surpassed Google as the most viewed website in the Netherlands, according to figures from web statistics firm Alexa, reported on nu.nl. Since the start of July,...

Western Europe - Satamatics, Telecom Italia in telematics services deal.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Satamatics, UK-based provider of satellite telematics, asset tracking and monitoring services, has partnered with Telecom Italia, to provide next-generation telematics services. The partnership follows a major...

France - Webraska adds Paris bicycle rental stations to GPS software.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) French GPS navigation solutions provider Webraska has added the locations of Paris' new Velib bicycle rental stations to its GPS navigation software for mobile phones. More than 10,000 bicycles have been...

Germany - E-Plus signs agreement with Brodos to expand phone portfolio.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) E-Plus has signed a cooperation agreement with German mobile phone distributor Brodos to expand their mobile phone portfolio. Under the agreement, E-Plus stores will have a larger collection of mobile phones for...

Sweden - Teleopti sees revenue rise to USD 7 mln.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Teleopti had USD 7 million revenue in H1 2007, up 25 percent vs the year-earlier, with a 40 percent growth in order intake. The company's half year figures are comparable to its full- year figures in 2005,...

Slovakia - Orange Slovakia posts higher sales, ARPU for Q2.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange Slovakia generated revenue of EUR 183 million in Q2 2007, versus EUR 172 million in Q1 2007 and EUR 155 million in Q2 2006. It ended June with a total of 2.70 million subscribers, versus 2.71 million at...

Romania - Orange Romania ends June with 8.57 mln customers.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange Romania generated revenue of EUR 295 million in Q2 2007, versus EUR 283 million in Q1 2007 and EUR 265 million a year earlier. It ended June with 8.57 million customers, up from 8.27 million at end-March...

Netherlands - Tele2, Call4Care, Rabo cut EU roaming rates.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch MVNOs Tele2, Rabo Mobiel and Call4Care are cutting their roaming rates in line with the new EU price caps. Customers will automatically receive the new tariffs. Call4Care will charge from September EUR 0.59...

Germany - Versatel Germany launches mobile option for businesses.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telecommunications operator Versatel Germany has launched a mobile tariff option for business customers with a VT easy [ one ] or VT easy [ flat ] subscription. The mobile option enables business to order up to...

Germany - Balda revenues drop to EUR 129.4 million as expected.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German manufacturer of mobile phone parts Balda despite difficult operating conditions largely achieved its targets in the first half of this year. From January to June the company recorded revenues amounting to...

Finland - Welho reports 93,000 broadband customers on 30 June.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Finland-based media group SanomaWSOY's Finnish cable network operator Welho saw its second quarter revenues grow as a result of the rapid growth in pay TV, broadband subscriptions and the sale of digital set-top...

Czech Republic - Vodafone CR announces new handsets, smartphones.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone Czech Republic (Vodafone CR) is adding a new low-priced mobile phone and two smartphones in August, and cutting the cost of existing phones by up to CZK 1,000. The low-cost Vodafone 226 has colour...

Germany - SES Astra wins transponder deals from ARD and ZDF.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) European satellite services proviser SES Astra has signed two long term agreements with ARD and ZDF to provide additional transponder capacity to the German public broadcasters. On the basis of the agreements...

Portugal - TV Cabo reaches 35,000 voice customers.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The fixed telephony service launched by Portuguese cable operator TV Cabo at the end of January has managed to sign up 35,000 clients so far, according to Pedro Leitao, CEO of PT Multimedia, the holding company...

France - Call back scammers arrested in France.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The French police has arrested three men suspected of running a call back scam company for the last two years that could have affected hundreds of thousands of victims and earned them over EUR 600,000, writes...

Switzerland - Orange Switzerland revenues drop, 1.441 mln customers.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange Switzerland saw its customer base grow by 25,000 during the second quarter to reach 1.44 million on 30 June of this year. Year-on-year, the customer base grew from 1.285 million during the second quarter...

Netherlands - Orange Netherlands grows mobile base, broadband users down.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange Netherlands reported growth in its mobile activities but a decline in broadband business in the second quarter. The number of mobile customers increased to 2.148 million from 2.081 million in March, and...

Ukraine - Telenor wins New York arbitration against Alfa.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telenor has won an arbitration proceeding in New York against Alfa group subsidiary Storm over the parties' joint investment in Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar. The tribunal has ordered Alfa to sell its...

Spain - Rise in contract customers boosts Orange Spain revenue.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange increased its revenue in Spain from mobile services by 3 percent in the second quarter to EUR 854 million. Its first-half revenue was up 2.6 percent to EUR 1.7 billion. In a statement, the France...

Spain - Spain needs to liberalise ADSL to boost rollout - AI.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Spain should scrap its regulation of ADSL prices in order to encourage competition and network rollout, said internet user association AI, reports El Mundo. Its head Victor Domingo said rival operators to...

Germany - T-Mobile Germany launches web'n'walk Time 120 for EUR 5.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) T-Mobile Germany has launched a new mobile internet tariff option called web'n'walk Time 120. The option includes 120 minutes of mobile internet access for EUR 5 per month and is available for all T-Mobile voice...

Germany - DBD launches voice over WiMAX services in Berlin.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German WiMAX operator DBD has started offering Voice over WiMAX services to the inhabitants of Berlin Mitte and the northern suburbs of the city. DBD's MAXXonair Clever and MAXXonair Comfort offer a bundled...

Europe - Debitel closes Talkline buy, might hold on to Dutch ops.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The acquisition of German mobile service provider Talkline by German mobile service debitel has been closed, after receiving approval from the European Commission and other regulatory institutions. During the...

Germany - 1&1 lowers roaming fees to EU-levels, enables multi-SIM.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German ISP 1&1 has lowered the roaming tariffs for its mobile customers to the required EU-levels. This means that receiving calls in an EU country now costs EUR 0.28 per minute and calling from an EU country...

France - Orange France raises mobile, fixed revenues in H1.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange France's mobile revenues rose by 0.1 percent to EUR 4.83 billion in the first half of the year. Excluding the impact of call termination rates, revenue growth was 3.4 percent, reflecting 4.5 percent growth...

Bulgaria - M-Tel launches Missed Calls, Available Calls services.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Bulgarian mobile operator Mobiltel (M-Tel) will launch two new free services for customers on 06 August. The new Missed Calls and Available Calls services will allow M-Tel customers to see who has been calling...

Switzerland - Sunrise lowers fixed-to-mobile call rates.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Swiss operator Sunrise has announced reductions of up to CHF 0.11 per minute for fixed-to-mobile domestic calls. Calls to the Sunrise mobile network will cost CHF 0.31 per minute at peak times on week days, and...

Germany - Callmobile customers overbilled for calls - report.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Customers of German discount mobile brand Callmobile who made calls between the afternoon of 01 August and 02 August have mistakenly been charged at a rate of EUR 3 per minute on their online statements, reports...

Germany - Deutsche Telekom unveils Call&Surf Start tariff.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Deutsche Telekom will launch the new Call&Surf Start entry-level DSL and phone tariff on 06 August, part of the T-Home brand. The new tariff will cost EUR 24.95 per month and includes an analogue phone line and...

Austria - Ten million mobile parking tickets issued in Vienna.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Mobilkom austria and Siemens announce that they have issued 10 million mobile parking permits in Vienna. A study of users found a very high level of customer satisfaction, with 3 in 4 customers giving the service...

Europe - France Telecom sales rise 2.1% in H1.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) France Telecom reported a 2.1 percent increase in first-half sales to EUR 25.913 billion, led by growth at its mobile activities. Revenues from mobile activities rose 5 percent from a year earlier to EUR 14.107...

France - French GPS navigation system sales up 21 percent in Q2.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The number of French car-owning households with a fixed or mobile GPS navigation system rose by 21 percent to over 3 million homes in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter of the year, according to...

Croatia - HT, T-Mobile accused of anti-competitive behaviour.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Croatia's competition authority AZTN has completed an investigation into telecom operators HT and T-Mobile, concluding the two companies abused their dominant market position. The two operators have been accused...

Italy - Wind reports 7.7 percent increase in revenues.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Italian telecom operator Wind reported first-half revenues up 7.7 percent to EUR 2.613 billion and a net loss for the period of EUR 122 million. Mobile telephony customers grew 6.6 percent to 15.2 million, while...

Belgium - Materna deploys 2 MMS applications for Mobistar.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Germany-based mobile applications developer Materna has implemented its MMS Composer and MMS2Email applications for Belgian mobile operator Mobistar. Materna's MMS Composer enables Mobistar customers to compose...

Europe - Consumer group calls for further roaming tariff cuts.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) European consumer group BEUC is calling for significant reductions to mobile roaming tariffs, reports dpa news agency. Levi Nietvelt, tariff specialist at the organisation, told dpa that current prices are well...

Switzerland - Namics develops white-label self-service portal for Litecom.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) IT and web services company namics has developed a new self-service portal for Swiss business telecommunications services provider Litecom. This is an easy-to-use customer portal with integrated billing and...

Hungary - T-Com Hungary launches SDSL service for SME customers.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Hungary's Magyar Telekom launched an SDSL business service for SME customers on 01 August through T-Com Hungary. The SDSL service offers identical download and upload rates, unlike ADSL and TDSL, and is offered...

Germany - Alcatel-Lucent deploys IP network for ITENOS.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Alcatel-Lucent has completed building a next-generation IP network for Deutsche Telekom subsidiary International Telecom Network Operation Services (ITENOS). The next-generation infrastructure allows ITENOS to...

Europe - D-Link unveils HorstBox multi-functional phone system.
August 2, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Networking products provider D-Link has announced the new HorstBox DVA-G3342SD phone system, which also integrates a WLAN access point, ADSL modem, DSL router and 4-Port Ethernet Switch in a single device....

France - Parrot reports strong first half.
August 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) French Bluetooth mobile accessories company Parrot reported a EUR 11.9 million net profit in the first half, up from EUR 600,000 in the year-earlier period. The company's operating profit rose by 67 percent to...

Czech Republic - T-Mobile CR activates new EU roaming tariffs.
August 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) T-Mobile Czech Republic (T-Mobile CR) has launched a new EU-compliant roaming tariff. Post-paid customers were able to apply for activation of the EU roaming add-on tariff in July. T-Mobile CR claims that 7,580...

Ireland - Zamano expects 15% growth in EBITDA in H1.
August 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Mobile data services provider Zamano expects to report approximately 15 percent EBITDA growth for H1 2007 versus the same period last year. EBITDA in H2 will benefit from a full six months' contribution from an...

Netherlands - OPTA rejects KPN appeal over Versatel rates.
August 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch market regulator OPTA has rejected an appeal from KPN over an increase in fixed termination rates by Versatel. From the start of July Versatel raised its rates for interconnection with KPN for traffic from...

Ireland - Eircom extends broadband to 19 new exchanges.
August 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Eircom has provided its broadband service to a further 19 exchanges, as part of its broadband rollout programme in Ireland. This results in an additional 12,000 new customers qualifying for broadband. The...

Western Europe - W Europe Carrier Ethernet spend to reach USD 4.1 bln in 2011.
August 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The carrier Ethernet market is growing rapidly in Western Europe, according to an IDC study. IDC forecasts that spending on Ethernet services will reach USD 4.1 billion in 2011, equal to a CAGR of 22 percent and...