Europe Intelligence Wire articles from December 2007

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from December 2007

Germany - Heavy mobile users can best choose E-Plus Internet 250.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile discount providers Aldi Talk, Blau.de, simyo and The Phone House are most interesting for mobile users, who do not call or access internet much, while heavy-users are most cost efficient with...

Spain - Spanish e-commerce sales rise to EUR 2.78 bln in 2006.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) E-commerce sales in Spain were EUR 2.78 billion in 2006, up 30 percent vs 2005, according to figures from Red.es, owned by the Spanish industry ministry, reports Expansion. In 2005, growth was 16 percent vs 2004....

Spain - Telefonica sets up advertising department.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telefonica has set up a department to market its advertising, including on TV, on the internet, via mobile phone and via directory services, reports Cinco Dias. With the move, the company aims to compete with...

Germany - New T-Systems CEO to simplify business processes.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The new CEO of Deutsche Telekom's business systems division T-Systems, Reinhard Clemens, plans to return the company to growth by simplifying its processes, writes the dpa news agency. Speaking in a video message...

Portugal - Portuguese mobile churn reaches 1.3 mln.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) More than one million Portuguese consumers have opted to change to a new mobile operator, according to Marktest's Telecommunications Barometer. In the quarter ending in October, more than 1.3 million consumers...

Germany - Former T-Online shareholders could receive EUR 600 mln.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Former T-Online shareholders and Deutsche Telekom are currently contemplating a settlement of EUR 600 million, according to law firm Dreier Riedel. T-Online shareholder launched a lawsuit against Deutsche Telekom...

Europe - France to partner CeBIT 2008.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) CeBIT 2008, being held in Hanover in the first week of March 2008, will see the public launch the "Franco-German Year of ICT", writes 01net. An agreement will be signed to this effect on 6 December. The German...

Switzerland - Swisscom, union settle on 2.7% pay rise.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Swisscom has reached agreement with the unions under which the salaries will be increased by 2.7 percent in the beginning of 2008. For most employees, the general increase will be 2.2 percent of the basic salary....

Europe - Telecom Italia gets EUR 382 million loan from EIB.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved two loans for the Telecom Italia group for a total of EUR 382 million, for investments in Italy and Germany. A EUR 200 million loan, the first installment of a EUR...

France - Group calls for universal broadband in France by 2012.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) French think-tank Renaissance Numerique has written an open letter to the French president. It wants the whole population to be able to connect and to be trained to use the internet in 2012, compared to 80...

Germany - 94% of Germans between 12 and 19 yrs old has a mobile phone.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The majority of German youth between 12 and 19 years old has a mobile phone: 94 percent, of which 29 percent has experienced that a fight was filmed with a mobile phone, 12 percent more than in 2006, according to...

Germany - Gelsen-Net offers mobile services.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German regional telecom provider Gelsen-Net has started offering mobile services for its residential and corporate customers on 1 December. The mobile service is part of Gelsen.Net's triple play service that also...

France - Orange, Neuf introduce dual-model Wi-Fi in Paris suburb.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange and Neuf Cegetel have deployed Wi-Fi networks in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux which are free to access municipal services, with customers paying for other applications. Vnunet.fr writes that the...

Portugal - Portuguese Post launches MVNO Phone-ix.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) After a 15 year break, the Portuguese Postal Service (CTT) has returned to the telecommunications sector, with the launch of the first MVNO operation in Portugal. The new operator is called Phone-ix. Using TMN's...

Germany - Debitel unveils Christmas promotion.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile service provider debitel has launched its Christmas promotion offering the latest models from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung or Motorola with three or six months of free use. At the same time,...

Germany - Thomson sells Skymaster Germany to Aques Industries.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) French media and entertainment equipment company Thomson has sold its Skymaster audio, video and accessories business in Germany to investement company Arques Industries. SM Electronic, which sells the Skymaster...

Malta - Melita offers free digital installation, movies in December.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Malta-based operator Melita has announced that its new and existing customers can install up to two digital set-top boxes throughout the month of December free. Analogue customers with a paid up deposit on the...

Europe - Carphone picks Telmap to power mobile navigation service.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Mobile phone retailer The Carphone Warehouse has selected mobile navigation services provider Telmap to power its own-branded mobile navigation application, The Carphone Warehouse Navigator, for the BlackBerry...

Europe - Online retail sites reach 70% of European web audience.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) A total of 160.6 million people in Europe visited online retail sites in October, up 5 percent year-on-year, according to data from comScore. This represents 70 percent of the total European internet audience. In...

Latvia - Lattelecom switches numbers to 8 digits.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Latvian operator Lattelecom has announced that more than 70 percent of telephone numbers were transformed into eight-digit numbers as of 30 November. The work on switching the numbers will continue until 1 August...

Germany - Callmobile offers 15 free minutes per month.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile discount provider callmobile offers 15 free call minutes per month during the first six months of use to customers, who order a callmobile starter package before 14 December. At the same time, the...

Latvia - Bite Latvia installs 95 2G base stations in 11 months.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Mobile operator Bite Latvija has installed 95 new 2G base stations in Latvia in the first eleven months. Thus Bite Latvija has completed its annual plans for 2007 regarding network development one month before...

Czech Republic - O2 launches Advent mobile content promotions.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) O2 has launched Advent offers on mobile content services in the Czech Republic. By opening one window in the O2 Active Advent calendar on the operator's portal, customers will be able to enjoy three different...

Denmark - Telia Stofa selects Motorola hybrid STB in Denmark.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telia Stofa, a broadband business unit of TeliaSonera, has selected the Motorola hybrid cable/IP set-top box for the launch of its Danish cable/IP video service. The service that Telia Stofa will launch using...

Italy - RAI, ADNKronos set up mobile video portal.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Italian public broadcaster RAI, via its Turin Research Center, has launched a joint project with news agency ADNKronos to set up a video portal and video blog. With a video mobile phone, users can record the...

Western Europe - Neomobile picks Sybase as technical provider in Italy, Spain.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Sybase 365 has signed an agreement with mobile entertainment company Neomobile as technical provider for the delivery of mobile content via SMS in Italy and Spain. Through this agreement, Sybase 365 manages the...

Germany - Cyrte has 20.47% of German operator Versatel.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Netherlands-based investor Cyrte Investments informed German fixed network operator Versatel that its stake in the operator exceeded the 20 percent barrier on 28 November of this year. On that date Cyrte...

Germany - Vodafone to take on Deutsche Telekom on fixed market.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone plans to become the largest competitor for Deutsche Telekom on the German fixed market, with its subsidiary Arcor, by investing up EUR 1.4 billion until 2012, according to confidential strategy plans,...

Spain - Antena 3 TV offers content for Nokia mobile phones.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Spanish private broadcaster Antena 3 and mobile phone manufacturer Nokia have signed an agreement for the supply of TV content over Nokia's Video Center. As a result of the agreement, users of the service can...

Germany - Vodafone CEO defends iPhone lawsuit.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone Germany's CEO Friedrich Joussen defends that fact that his company filed a lawsuit against the exclusive deal between Apple and T-Mobile Germany for the iPhone in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung....

Netherlands - Dutch govt IT projects face parliamentary investigation.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) MPs from the Christian Democrat and Socialist parties are expected to get enough support in the lower house for a parliamentary investigation into government IT projects. A recent report form the government...

Germany - Vodafone Germany re-introduces CallYa OpenEnd tariff.
December 3, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone Germany is re-introducing its CallYa OpenEnd pre-paid promotional tariff for Christmas, and is now accepting pre-registration for new and existing customers, writes teltarif.de. The tariff will be made...

Germany - 1&1 unveils mobile flatrate for Surf & Phone 16.000 package.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Germany's 1&1 Internet has added a new mobile phone flat-rate to the Surf & Phone 16.000 package. The tariff is available without a monthly contract and charges a flat-rate EUR 0.199 per minute for calls to other...

Austria - Tele2 Austria names CFO, CTO, marketing director.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Tele2 Austria has unveiled the new managers for the divisions Finance & Accounting, Network Operations & Engineering and Indirect Sales Business. Norbert Cuder will become the director of Finance & Accounting...

Switzerland - Swiss can call much cheaper since liberalisation - study.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The prices for making phone calls in Switzerland have dropped since the start of the liberalisation of the telecom market in 1998, according to Swiss online price comparison portal comparis.ch. The largest price...

Netherlands - AMS-IX picks Foundry Networks routers.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Amsterdam Internet Exchange has selected the NetIron MLX-32 metro routers from Foundry Networks to help manage its increase in traffic. The AMS-IX recently passed used capacity of 350 Gbps at the end of...

Europe - EC approves sale of BSG mobile business to Syniverse.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The European Commission (EC) has approved the proposed acquisition of BSG Group's mobile business by US technology group Syniverse Technologies. The affected BSG business provides data and financial clearing...

Spain - Gavitec tests SMS ticketing with Spanair.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) NeoMedia Technologies company Gavitec is implementing mobile ticketing for Spanair Airlines. Two Spanish airports were chosen to pilot the technology. The aim is paperless ticketing which ultimately equals...

Germany - Getmobile.de unveils Christmas promotions.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German online mobile phone store getmobile.de offers three packages with mobile phones, tariffs and incentive for EUR 0 as Christmas promotion. Customers can choose between a package with a Nokia N95 8 GB, a...

Finland - Elisa cuts 52 jobs from Consumer Customers unit.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Finnish operator Elisa has concluded negotiations relating to and rationalisation measures at its Consumer Customers and Small Enterprise Customers unit. As a result, 52 employees will be dismissed, compared to...

Slovenia - Telekom Slovenije invests EUR 256 mln.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Telekom Slovenije Group has invested more than EUR 256 million in the first nine months of this year. The investments were made in construction, upgrading and development of FTTH technology services and other...

Italy - TIM to offer Nokia's Ovi services.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Nokia has collaborated with Telecom Italia Mobile to accelerate the adoption of new internet services on mobile. Ovi, the gateway to Nokia's internet services, will be enabled on Nokia handsets offered by TIM. As...

Bulgaria - Mobitel, Globul apply for additional spectrum.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Bulgarian operators Mobitel and Globul have applied for additional radio-frequency spectrum from the Bulgarian communications regulator. The requests follow increased traffic, new services and growing customer...

Germany - T-Mobile can continue with exclusive iPhone sales - court.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) T-Mobile Germany can continue to offer the Apple iPhone with a two years contract and SIM lock, according to the civil chamber of the state court in Hamburg. The court repealed its earlier injunction under which...

Romania - Romanian mobile network traffic up 24 percent in H1.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Romanian regulator ANRCTI's Statistical Data Report for the electronic communications sector for the first half of 2007 reveals that public mobile network traffic continued its upward trend, increasing by 24...

Czech Republic - Telefonica O2 CR names consumer marketing chief.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telefonica O2 Czech Republic has promoted Matts Erik Johansen as chief marketing officer of the consumer division, effective December. Prior to this role, Johansen served as marketing director for the business...

Germany - ECT deploys televoting platform for Deutsche Telekom.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) European Computer Telecoms Group (ECT) has recently realised a televoting platforms on behalf of the Deutsche Telekom. This solution enables the network operator to answer each call by Interactive Voice Response...

Slovenia - Slovenia extends deadline for Telekom bids.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Slovenian government has extended the deadline for submitting binding bids for Telekom Slovenije until 4 January. The government has already shortlisted seven candidates for the bidding, which had been...

Poland - TP launches fixed-line plan with 250 anytime minutes.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Polish fixed-line operator Telekomunikacja Polska introduces a new telephone plan with 250 minutes of calls included in the subscription fee. Customers can use the minutes 24 hours a day to make calls to all...

Netherlands - KPN, NS abandon train internet project.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch telecoms operator KPN and railways operator NS have abandoned their project for offering wireless internet on trains and in stations. The project has proven to be unprofitable, as the most important source...

Spain - Lanetro Zed launches free SMS-via-internet service.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Lanetro Zed has launched Zed Free SMS, a free service for sending SMS messages via the internet, reports Cinco Dias. The new service forms part of Grupo Zed's range of services which integrate mobile phones and...

Netherlands - KPN reports strong demand for FTTH in Enschede.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch operator KPN has reported strong demand for its FTTH project in the neighbourhood Enschede-Zuid. The company is extending the sign-up period for an introductory offer until 31 December. So far a few...

Finland - Nokia Siemens to operate DNA's fixed networks in Finland.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Finnish broadband and fixed network operator DNA Palvelut has signed a managed services agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks. As part of the agreement, the entire fixed line operations of DNA will be...

Germany - M-net offers more download speed for Maxi Komplett.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German regional network operator M-net offers new customers its Maxi Komplett 1500 service with 3 Mbps instead of the usual 1.5 Mbps and its 16000 service is upgraded to 18 Mbps. At the same time, new customers...

Germany - EuNetworks supplies co-location facility to Denic.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) European fibre-optic network operator EuNetworks has signed a contract with Denic for the provision of a private fibre network, co-location in EuNetworks' datacentre in Amsterdam and dedicated Tier 1 internet...

Czech Republic - T-Mobile CR launches airtime alerts.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Czech mobile operator T-Mobile has launched Moje utrata, a service that informs customers of their remaining free units/credit and the total amount spent up to a certain point, via either SMS or the My T-Mobile...

Scandinavia - TheCard invests in MobiClear's new transaction services.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Payment services provider TheCard Scandinavia has signed an agreement with MobilClear regarding two new security services offered by MobiClear. The two patented services are based on a technology that uses the...

Portugal - Portuguese home internet penetration hits 39.6% - study.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) In Q1 2007, 48.3 percent of Portuguese households had a PC and 39.6 percent had an internet connection, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). Out of the total households with an internet...

Portugal - ParaRede develops IP telephony solution for Litocar Group.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Portuguese company ParaRede has been selected by the Litocar Group, distributor of Renault and Honda cars for the greater Coimbra region, to implement an IP-based global communications network for voice and data....

France - Paris libraries switch off Wi-Fi after staff complains.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The city of Paris has deactivated Wi-Fi hotspots in libraries where employees were complaining of various ailments since their installation. However, the project to cover Paris with hotzones is not in jeopardy,...

Greece - Lannet grows Q3 sales 40%, losses widen.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Greek operator Lannet Communications reported third-quarter sales of EUR 15 million, helped by its merger with Telepassport. The EBITDA loss however widened to EUR 3 million from EUR 0.5 million a year ago due to...

France - DGCCRF warns about online pyramid selling schemes.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) French consumer and competition authority DGCCRF has issued a warning about internet companies offering them what seems to be an opportunity to earn extra money online. The government body's alert concerns...

Germany - Majority of parents want obligated info science lessons.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The majority of German parents and pupils want obligated information science lessons for schools and more use of computers during their (kids) education, according to a survey executed by Forsa for German...

Hungary - Magyar Telekom, Deutsche Telekom partner on int'l voice.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Hungarian fixed operator Magyar Telekom and its parent company Deutsche Telekom will combine their international voice wholesale businesses from the start of 2008. Deutsche Telekom will have responsibility for...

France - Orange to provide videoconferencing points to judiciary.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) France Telecom chairman and CEO Didier Lombard and French minister of justice Rachida Dati have signed an agreement on an experimental public video point for specific legal procedures. The patented platform...

Italy - Telecom Italia confirms new management.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telecom Italia's board of directors has confirmed the new chairman and CEO proposed by its controlling shareholders. Gabriele Galateri di Genola has been named chairman and Franco Bernabe is the new CEO,...

Germany - Legal online download revenues to grow 28% to EUR 168 mln.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The revenues for legal downloads of music, videos, games, software or audio books has increased to EUR 118 million during the first three quarters of this year, according to the German federation for ICT and new...

France - French Web 2.0 companies form industry organisation ASIC.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) AOL France, Dailymotion, Google, PriceMinister and Yahoo! Have founded the Community Internet Services Association (ASIC), the first French organisation grouping first-tier Web 2.0 companies and aiming to promote...

Germany - MoobiCent offers broadband access to Air Dolomiti customers.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile broadband service provider MoobiCent partners with Italian regional airline Air Dolomiti to provide mobile broadband services on Munich's international airport. In Air Dolomiti's Spazio Italia in...

Scandinavia - Lyse extends multi-play service deal with IBM.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) IBM and Norwegian energy and telecommunication provider Lyse are extending their services agreement for the multi-play service called Altibox. The service provides families in Norway and Denmark access to...

Germany - DSF, eteleon to market DSF mobil with large incentives.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile service distributor eteleon and German sports TV channel DSF partner to market DSF mobil with many extras. If DSF mobil customers sign two debitel postpaid contracts, they can choose between a quad...

Portugal - Vodafone Portugal launches HSUPA in Lisbon.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone has become the first operator in Portugal to introduce HSUPA technology, raising upload speeds on its network to up to 1.4 Mbps. This is some four times faster than the speeds offered so far. The new...

Slovenia - Telekom Slovenije nine-month revenues up 5 percent.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Telekom Slovenije Group generated operating revenues of EUR 587 million in the first nine months of the year, up 5 percent year-on-year, while net profits were down 2 percent to EUR 75 million. Operating...

Netherlands - LogicaCMG develops network information system for KPN.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch operator KPN and LogicaCMG have signed a three-year contract for the development and technical management of network information systems. The agreement will enable KPN IT the Netherlands to accelerate the...

Netherlands - Achmea outsources ICT services.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch insurance group Achmea has outsourced the management of its ICT infrastructure in contracts worth EUR 415 million with Atos Origin, Getronics PinkRoccade and KPN. Around 170 Achmea staff will transfer to...

Spain - France Telecom set to boost Al-Pi stake to 100% - report.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) France Telecom will sign an agreement with the Spanish region of Catalonia to increase its stake in regional business telecommunication operator Al-Pi from 75 to 100 percent, writes El Pais, citing unnamed...

France - CS Communication sells infrastructure branch to BT.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) French IT, telecommunication and security systems company CS Communication has sold its critical infrastructure branch to BT. The latter offered to buy the mission critical equipment business for up to EUR 60...

Belgium - Dexia deploys Juniper's security gateway to protect network.
December 4, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) European banking group Dexia has deployed security architecture based on Juniper Networks Integrated Security Gateway 2000 and the Juniper Networks NetScreen Security Manager throughout its branch network. The...

Austria - Austrian mobile market to see more consolidation - study.
December 5, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Austrian mobile market has seen little change in market shares since T-Mobile Austria acquired discount operator tele.ring in 2006 thus more consolidation seems to be the most logical development, according...

Netherlands - Dutch mobile market set for 5% growth in 2007 - study.
December 5, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Dutch mobile market is on track for 5 percent growth in services revenues in 2007, but could see a slowdown in 2008, according to market research from Telecompaper. In the third quarter of 2007, mobile...

Portugal - Portugal adds 50,000 broadband users in Q3.
December 5, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Portuguese market added around 50,000 new broadband subscribers in the third quarter, for a total 1.57 million at the end of September. That's up 16 percent form a year ago, according to figures from market...

Europe - Arvato, Satyam unveil European IT services alliance.
December 5, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Arvato Systems and Satyam Computer Services have joined forces to provide medium-sized businesses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with IT products and off-shore services. Arvato has selected Satyam as an...

Romania - Mira Telecom sees FY revenues up 70%.
December 5, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Romanian telecomunication products and services provider Mira Telecom expects to record USD 10-12 million in revenues this year, up around 70 percent on last year, said Stelian Ilie, CEO of Mira Telecom. The main...

Italy - Telecom Italia San Marino picks VocalTec for VoIP network.
December 5, 2007... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telecom Italia San Marino, a VocalTec customer, has selected carrier multimedia and VoIP products provider VocalTec for the expansion of its international telecommunications network. TISM will use VocalTec...