Europe Intelligence Wire articles from May 2011

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from May 2011

CIS Customs Union is better than Ukraine-EU FTA.
May 31, 2011... (From The Ukrainian Times) Byline: Vladimir V. Sytin According to leaders of Left-wing parties, Ukraine must become a party to the talks about relations among the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States Customs Union....

Export quotas on grain crops cancelled.
May 31, 2011... (From The Ukrainian Times) Byline: Oleg Kobyakov The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Foodstuffs has put forward a proposal to cancel the export quota on corn because its balance amounts to two million tons by the end of this marketing...

Most Ukrainians dont support Azarov, Litvin.
May 31, 2011... (From The Ukrainian Times) Byline: Vladimir V. Sytin Recent polls found that 49% of Ukrainians have a negative opinion of President Viktor Yanukovich. The opinion polls also say that 60.1% and 64.6% do not support prime minister Nikolai...

London week ahead: Ken in Boris country.
May 31, 2011... (From Guardian Unlimited) As this post goes live I'm checking my route by bus and train from near the heart of Hackney to the very core of Bromley, where later this morning I'll encounter a man named Livingstone. Will he be feeling lost in an...

Is Microsoft getting $5 per HTC Android handset sold? We asked HTC...
May 31, 2011... (From Guardian Unlimited) Who's making money out of Android? Some carriers (because people are buying smartphones), perhaps some handset makers, one or two app developers, and possibly Google through ancillary services such as search and...

Japanese Bankers Assoc likely to accept Post Bank.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) The Japanese Bankers Association is thought likely to perform a U Turn and accept Japan Post Bank as a member next month. The association has previously refused membership because it is 100% state owned. Arguing that...

Lloyds Banking to launch mobile payments & Olympic contactless.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Lloyds Banking announced that it would be the 'bank issuer partner' for Visa and Samsung for the London Olympic games next year. Previously Visa and Samsung had announced that it would offer Visa-sponsored athletes a...

Metro Bank selects Temenos for mobile banking.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Metro Bank is to launch mobile banking before year end. It has chosen the Temenos Arc mobile solution to use. The choice of provider is not a surprise as it currently subcontracts most of its core banking operations to...

UK-wide mobile payments feasibility study.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) The Payments Council has announced a feasibility and scoping project for mobile payments. The council states that it has: " kicked off this project as part of its commitment to lead innovation in payments. The first...

Former NASDAQ MD charged with Insider Trading.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) The Securities & Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice announced Donald Johnson, a former NASDAQ Managing Director, has been charged with insider trading. He is said to have used inside knowledge of...

Nationwide profit down - operating profit up.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Nationwide Building Society reported full year net profit for the year to April 4th of GBP248m (€286m $408m YEN33.1bn Y2,650m) DOWN 6% on the previous year. Using the nationwide defined underlying profit...

AIB acquisition of EBS.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) The Irish government , Allied Irish Bank and the EBS Building Society have signed the agreement which will make EBS a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Irish Bank. Allied Irish Bank is owned 93%+ by the state and EBS...

Insurance main factor in RBC profit increase.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Royal Bank of Canada reported six month net attributable to end April of C$3,216m (€2,310m GBP2,002m $3,295m YEN267.2bn Y21,391m), up 19%. There is a mixed bag of product performance within the results....

Bank of Ireland debt for equity plan.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Bank of Ireland is reported to be working on a debt for equity plan for its junior bondholders. Previously the plan had been for a bond exchange with significant haircut such as happened with other Irish banks, most...

Lower loan losses and taxes help CIBC to bigger profit.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) CIBC reported net income for the six months to end of April of C$1,477 (€1,061m GBP919m $1,513m YEN122.7bn Y9,824m) up 12.6%. The bank managed an increase in net interest income which is good given that Net...

Dexia writedown of mainly US assets.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Dexia is to take a €3.6bn (GBP3.1bn $5.1bn YEN417bn Y33.3bn) writedown charge during the current quarter. This mainly relates to a loss which will be realised on the sale of various assets, but mainly linked...

Former Bank of Italy governor jailed.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Antonio Fazio, the former Bank of Italy governor has been sentenced to four years in jail and a €1.5m (GBP1.3m $2.1m YEN174m Y13.9m) fine for his part in the attempted acquisition of Banca Antonveneta by Banca...

BTA understated loan losses.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) It is suggested that BTA Bank understated its loan losses in 2009 and as a result may now need further financial help. BTA is the largest Kazakhstan bank and was on the verge of failure in 2009. A deal between the...

BlackRock UK attacks banks over IPOs.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) Luke Chappell and James Macpherson, two UK executives of the investment firm, BlackRock, are reported to have written to major banks last week with a list of complaints about IPO listings and a threat the group would...

Three bidders for LCH.Clearnet.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) It is understood that the London Stock Exchange Group, Nasdaq OMX, and NYSE Euronext have all expressed interest in buying and or working with LCH.Clearnet. The main press reports talk of acquisition however...

Barclays seeking Spanish acquisition.
May 31, 2011... (From Banking Newslink) The BBC reports that Barclays Bank is seeking to acquire a Spanish Bank. This is assumed to be on of the Cajas, perhaps one of the super Cajas, the large savings bank groups formed by the merger of various smaller...

Cambodia microfinance: it's not all about credit, savings matter too.
May 31, 2011... (From Guardian Unlimited) Sarom Eng, 55, has five children. She perches on a wooden slatted bench in her village, Preytotung, in Battambang province, as she speaks about her business ventures. Family members, including her daughter and one of...

Twitter planning photo-sharing service.
May 31, 2011... (From Guardian Unlimited) Twitter is to launch its own photo-sharing service to compete with existing services such as Twitpic, Yfrog, Instagram and Flickr, according to multiple sources. The announcement is expected this week at the D9...

Austria - Adfortel, Yesss! launch ad-based mobile tariff.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Netherlands-based mobile advertising service provider Adfortel and Orange Austria's discount MVNO Yesss! partner to launch a new mobile advertising services in Austria. The cooperation offers customers for the new...

Germany - Vodafone Germany to launch free data roaming in 22 countries.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone Germany plans to launch a new data roaming service called ReiseFlat Data on 1 June, according to teltarif.de. The flatrate offers free data roaming in 22 selected Vodafone networks around the world. The...

Netherlands - DutchView claims biggest webcast.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) DutchView claims to have realised the biggest live webcast in the Netherlands ever, for Feller Media at the Achmea Achlum Convention. The new streaming platform, developed with sister company ParkPost and NLbuzz,...

Netherlands - Tele2 Netherlands names De Vos as IT director.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Tele2 Netherlands named Svenja de Vos its IT director from 1 June. She replaces Lineke Sneller, who is leaving the company. De Vos will also be a member of the management team. She has worked in various jobs at...

Switzerland - Swisscom, Groupe-E will not challenge Weko decision.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Swisscom and Swiss local utilities provider Groupe E will not challenge the decision of the Swiss cartel commission Weko on the Freiburg fibre cooperation project in the federal administrative court. At the end of...

Belgium - BIPT offers home radiation tests.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Belgian telecoms regulator BIPT will measure radiation from mobile towers and wireless internet for concerned households, according to Flemish environment minister Joke Schauvliege (CD&V) at a press meeting in...

Switzerland - T-Systems sees 1st success from Data Migration purchase.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) The merger of T-Systems Switzerland with Swiss SAP integrated systems provider Data Migration Consulting is showing its first signs of success. Additional SAP business is being recorded with existing customers, such...

Netherlands - Ben moves towards minute billing.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch mobile services provider Ben, part of T-Mobile, is changing its billing method from 1 June. Currently it charges a set-up fee of EUR 0.06 and then bills by the second. It will now charge for a first full...

Switzerland - Swisscom merges all IT operations under Swisscom brand.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) As of 1 June, all companies in the Swisscom IT Services Group will operate under the Swisscom umbrella brand. Former subsidiaries Comit and Sourcag will form the Finance Services division, while Resource will...

Europe - Anatole taps Interoute to host telecom management SaaS.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) French telecom expense management (TEM) software as a service provider Anatole has selected major European network operator and data centre company Interoute to host the Anatole TEM software as a service (SaaS)...

Germany - Hellomobil launches mobile internet flatrate promotion.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) German discount MVNO Hellomobil has launched a promotion for its mobile internet tariff option Handysurf Flatrate 200MB, reports inside-handy.de. The flatrate can be used for free during three months by customers...

Romania - Orange Romania launches femtocell product for businesses.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Orange Romania launched 'Extra signal,' a femtocell product aimed at businesses that expands 3G/3G+ coverage inside buildings. The offered equipment covers up to 800 square metres (open space), supports up to 16...

Europe - Eutelsat offers broadband service through KA-SAT satellite.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications' KA-SAT High Throughput Satellite is now into commercial service and marks the launch of the enhanced Tooway broadband service. It can deliver services that contribute to...

France - Acropolis plans datacentre network, channel shake-up.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) French voice and data operator cum datacentre service provider Acropolis Telecom has announced plans to form a national reseller network to offer SMEs converged telecom and hosting services. The all-IP operator said...

Poland - UPC Poland partners History channel tour.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) UPC Poland is the partner of the tour of the History channel in Poland. During the European part of the tour, which started in March in Bilbao, the History truck, a cinema on wheels, visited Warsaw over the weekend...

Italy - Italian internet audience grows 12% in year to April.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) There were 26.6 million active internet users in Italy in April, who connected at least once via computer, according to the latest figures published by Audiweb. This figure represents an increase of 12.4 percent on...

Turkey - Turk Telekom offers Wirofon add-on for calls from abroad.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Turk Telekom launched 'Travel abroad campaign,' a promotion whereby its existing or new Wirofon VoIP customers are offered a promotional package for making calls from abroad to Turkey. With this offer, end-users get...

Netherlands - KPN introduces cloud services for SMEs.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch operator KPN introduced a cloud computing offer for SMEs called MKB Werkplek. The package including software and service costs EUR 39.95 per month excluding VAT for each work station. It includes professional...

Italy - TIM introduces TIM for Two offer.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Italian mobile operator TIM introduced TIM For Two, a new option that enables users to make unlimited voice and video calls to a TIM number, paying a fixed weekly price. For new prepaid customers, the price is EUR...

Poland - Play adds LG, HTC phones.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Polish mobile operator Play adds the LG P970 Swift Black 4G READY and HTC Wildfire S 4G READY handsets to its offer. The LG P970 Swift Black costs with the Mix tariffs from PLN 609 to PLN 1,289, with Stan Darmowy...

Italy - Wind launches number portability promotion.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Italian mobile operator Wind is offering new customers porting their number by June 12 to a half-price offer for the first 12 months of service. The "We Super All" plan provides 120 minutes of calls and 120 SMS per...

Germany - DeTe plans to restructure product innovation division.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Deutsche Telekom wants to increase the development speed of its products and services and plans to restructure several segments, according to the Financial Times Deutschland. CTO Edward Kozel cooperates with the...

Sweden - Fifth of Swedish businesses use smartphone apps.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Six out of ten Swedish companies are interested in smartphone apps that are business supportive tools and more than one in five companies are using apps today, according to a survey conducted by Tele2 Sweden....

Germany - LambdaNet wins Ethernet-VPN contract from Materna.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) German fixed network operator LambdaNet Communications Deutschland has won a contract from Germany-based IT services provider Materne to deploy a Ethernet-based VPN to connect all 10 Materna locations around...

Germany - Drillisch has no plans to take control at Freenet.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile service provider Drillisch plans to increase its stake in German mobile service provider Freenet, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt. Drillisch currently holds 20 percent of the Freenet either...

France - French TV shows must not name their social network - CSA.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) France's television regulator, the "Conseil Superieur de l'Audiovisuel" (CSA), has published a decision stating that it considers that TV and radio programmes that state the name of a social network when asking...

France - France Telecom outlines plans to 'adapt and conquer'.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) France Telecom-Orange outlined its strategic and financial plans for 2011-15, focusing on increased investment and cost reductions in order to return to consistent revenue and cash flow growth. Presented at its...

Germany - Deutsche Telekom to buy back almost 110,000 shares.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Deutsche Telekom's executive board has launched a share buyback program for almost 110,000 shares or around 0.0025 percent of the capital stock on 27 May of this year. Based on the closing price of the Deutsche...

France - French police shuts pirate download site liberty-land.net.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) France's most visited website for pirate downloads, Liberty Land, has been closed by the police. Le Monde reports that the website's three administrators were arrested in Marseille, near Le Havre and in Montreuil,...

Germany - German mobile users increasingly use m-commerce - study.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) German mobile device owners are increasingly use their mobile phone, smartphone or tablet to check price information about products and services making the step to mobile purchase smaller, according to a study by...

Bulgaria - Globul awards EUR 65,000 to PFC Litex for winning league.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Globul awarded EUR 65,000 to football club PFC Litex for winning its fourth and second consecutive Bulgarian Championship title. This amount represents a special premium awarded as agreed under the partnership...

Belgium - Artilium extends contract with KPN Belgium.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Artilium announced that it has extended the company's largest existing contract, with KPN Group Belgium, ahead of the contract expiring in March 2012. From March 2012, the extended agreement will be based on a...

Germany - Simfy provides music web player for Coca Cola campaign.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) German online streaming music service provider Simfy is providing the sound for the current "Coke Sound Up 2011" campaign by Coca-Cola in Germany. Simfy has placed an integrated web player on the campaign web site...

Portugal - TMN extends 4G trials to Braga.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Portuguese mobile operator TMN has extended LTE trials to the northern city of Braga, after having launched in April the first urban 4G trials in Cascais. As a result, the local inhabitants and visitors to the city...

Greece - Hellas Online revenues up 16% to EUR 56.4 mln in Q1.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Hellas Online saw its revenues increase by 15.8 percent over the same period last year to EUR 56.4 million in Q1. EBITDA increased by 34.3 percent to EUR 15 million, with EBITDA margin reaching 26.6 percent. The...

Romania - OTE not interested in buying Romania's stake in Romtelecom.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) OTE did not make an offer to the Romanian state to acquire full control of its Romanian unit Romtelecom from Romania's government, the Romanian Ministry of Communications and Information Society (MCSI) announced....

Europe - EU ministers extend Enisa mandate.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) The EU Council has agreed to extend the information security agency Enisa's mandate for 18 months. This is the expected time it will take to reach an agreement on the proposed reform of the agency. Enisa's current...

Greece - Greece consults on 3rd round review of wholesale markets.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Greek telecom regulator EETT has launched a public consultation regarding its 3rd round of review of the wholesale physical network infrastructure access at a fixed location and wholesale broadband access markets....

Denmark - TDC offers smartphones on instalments.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Danish operator TDC introduced 'TDC Rate,' a new service which enables customers to purchase a smartphone on 6, 12 or 24 monthly instalments without interest. The new offer comes in response to a growth in the...

Ireland - Irish school to offer iPads to students instead of books.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) An Irish secondary school in Mayo will give first-year students the option of using an iPad for schoolwork instead of traditional schoolbooks, the Irish Times reported. St Coleman's College in Claremorris, County...

Austria - A1 expands IPTV channel offering, offers Fast Channel Change.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) A1 Telekom Austria will be expanding its IPTV platform A1 Kabel TV to include more regional and foreign-language channels. The number of channels in A1 Kabel TV's basic package will be increased by 20 to include...

Croatia - Croadria promotes new web hosting packages.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Croadria, Croatian web hosting company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Iskona, launched a promotion on the occasion of renewing its product portfolio and its website. The current offering has been enriched with the...

Netherlands - Dutch operators score average in customer experience.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch telecom operators still have a way to go in improving customer experience. An annual survey looking at customer experience in five sectors placed T-Mobile Netherlands as the highest telecom/internet company,...

Netherlands - Dutch schools struggle to implement mobile policies.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Dutch schools are struggling to set policies for the use of mobile phones by students, leading to security problems and disruptions to lessons, according to a report from the National Academy for Media and Society...

Netherlands - Putten residents look to expand FTTH coverage plan.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Dutch municipality of Putten, in Gelderland, completed a demand assessment for FTTH services, attracting 23 percent of solicited households. Operator Reggefiber said the percentage is too low to start network...

Spain - Movistar cuts 10 Mbps ADSL service price.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Movistar has cut the price of its 10 Mbps ADSL service. Subscribers will now be charged EUR 20.2 per month during the first six months of service, after which the monthly fee will jump to EUR 26.9. Starting with the...

Spain - Vodafone brings LG Optimus Pad to Spain.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Vodafone has launched the LG Optimus Pad tablet in Spain. The Optimus Pad is powered by thile Android 3.0 operating system, features an 8.9-inch display, and dynamic stereo speakers. The Pad also comes with a...

Poland - MNI names CEO of Navigo, Lark.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) MNI appointed Marcin Olbrycht (37) as CEO of its subsidiaries Lark and Navigo. Navigo is a manufacturer of digital maps, and Lark Europe is a producer and distributor of GPS navigation devices. Olbrycht is a...

Italy - Corriere, Gazzetta launch mobile subscriptions.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Italian daily newspapers Corriere della Sera and Gazzetta dello Sport have launched subscription applications for the Apple iPhone. Optimized for the smaller screen of the iPhone, the two applications can be...

Svalbard - Telenor launches 4G/LTE network in Svalbard.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telenor is celebrating 100 years since opening its first telegraph station in Svalbard in 1911. To mark the event, Telenor has launched the world's northernmost 4G/LTE network in Longyearbyen. Telenor Svalbard's...

Romania - Romtelecom adds content to cauta.romtelecom.ro with Mediafax.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Romtelecom signed a partnership agreement with local publishing company Mediafax whereby Mediafax becomes the unique provider of the content for Romtelcom's portal cauta.romtelecom.ro. Media content has been added...

Netherlands - Leefritme Kenniscentrum adapts HR policies.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) The Dutch Life Rhythm Knowledge Centre (Leefritme Kenniscentrum) has sent out a number of recommendations to employers, explaining how they can adapt their human resource policies and working conditions. The Centre...

Sweden - iZettle to launch iPhone app, card reader for payments.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Swedish start-up iZettle will launch a chip-card reader and app in June that will enable anyone with an iPhone to receive payments from chip-enabled credit or debit cards, The Wall Street Journal writes citing the...

Slovakia - Slovak Telekom presents internet promotion.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Slovak Telekom introduced a promotion on its fixed and mobile internet programmes. The operator reduced the Turbo/Optik 2 Mini plan to EUR 8.99 for a 24-month commitment period, if purchased with the voice plan...

Germany - O2 to launch commercial LTE services in Germany from 1 July.
May 31, 2011... (From Telecompaper Europe) Telefonica Germany will start marketing LTE commercially from 1 July. The operator will market two packages under the O2 LTE fuer Zuhause (O2 LTE at home) brand, offering mobile broadband access for residential and...

'BIPT offers home radiation tests'.
May 31, 2011... (From DMEurope) DMEUROPE-(C)2011 DMeurope.com (http://www.dmeurope.com & DME Ltd. All rights reserved. Belgian telecoms regulator BIPT will measure radiation from mobile towers and wireless internet for concerned households, according...

'Swisscom, GroupeE will not challenge Weko decision'.
May 31, 2011... (From DMEurope) DMEUROPE-(C)2011 DMeurope.com (http://www.dmeurope.com & DME Ltd. All rights reserved. Swisscom and Swiss local utilities provider Groupe E will not challenge the decision of the Swiss cartel commission Weko on the...

'Tele2 Netherlands names De Vos as IT director'.
May 31, 2011... (From DMEurope) DMEUROPE-(C)2011 DMeurope.com (http://www.dmeurope.com & DME Ltd. All rights reserved. Tele2 Netherlands named Svenja de Vos its IT director from 1 June. She replaces Lineke Sneller, who is leaving the company. De Vos...

'AppsFire raises USD 2.5 million from IDInvest'.
May 31, 2011... (From DMEurope) DMEUROPE-(C)2011 DMeurope.com (http://www.dmeurope.com & DME Ltd. All rights reserved. Franco-Israeli mobile app marketing platform AppsFire has raised EUR 2.5 million from venture capital company IDInvest, Les Echos...

'DutchView claims biggest webcast'.
May 31, 2011... (From DMEurope) DMEUROPE-(C)2011 DMeurope.com (http://www.dmeurope.com & DME Ltd. All rights reserved. DutchView claims to have realised the biggest live webcast in the Netherlands ever, for Feller Media at the Achmea Achlum...

'Vodafone Germany to launch free data roaming in 22 countries'.
May 31, 2011... (From DMEurope) DMEUROPE-(C)2011 DMeurope.com (http://www.dmeurope.com & DME Ltd. All rights reserved. Vodafone Germany plans to launch a new data roaming service called ReiseFlat Data on 1 June, according to teltarif.de. The flatrate...