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Tag: Vodafone

  • Vodafone Idea doubles 4G speeds in Mumbai

    Vodafone Idea doubles 4G speeds in Mumbai

    India’s Vodafone Idea has announced it has doubled 4G download speeds in the Mumbai metro area as part of a major network modernization program in the city.

    The operator is deploying new technologies in the metro area including Massive MIMO, small cells and more TD-LTE cell sites, and has so far deployed more than 5,000 such sites across several regions.

    As part of the network upgrade, Vodafone Idea has also installed over 1,900 pieces of dedicated indoor coverage equipment at high rises and commercial buildings.

    Vodafone Idea’s capacity and coverage in Mumbai has also benefited from 4G spectrum refarming conducted as part of the network consolidation between the former Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, which combined to become Vodafone Idea last year in a $23 billion merger.

    “I am happy to announce that ‘Mumbai just got two times faster’ which means that our customers will now experience two times the download speeds on the 4G network,” Vodafone Idea business head Sunil Tolani said.

    This is based on statistics from Valu Connex Telecom Services indicating that average download speeds in Mumbai have improved by 2.16 times compared to prior to the modernization program.

    “We will be utilizing multiple [advertising] media like OOH [out-of home], radio and digital to reach out to our audience and hope they will enjoy the benefits of our focused network initiatives in Mumbai,” Tolani concluded.

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  • Vodafone Idea taps Ericsson for 5G-ready LTE upgrade

    Vodafone Idea taps Ericsson for 5G-ready LTE upgrade

    Vodafone Idea has contracted Ericsson to deploy 5G-ready LTE equipment as part of its network consolidation and modernization program. Under the agreement, Ericsson will help integrate the networks of the merged Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. As part of the contract, Ericsson will supply radio systems and transport equipment from its 5G-ready Ericsson Radio System portfolio.

    The deployments will provide Vodafone Idea with high capacity, low latency microwave backhaul and an easy upgrade path to 5G.

    Vodafone Idea plans to consolidate its existing deployed 2G and 3G network to maximize spectrum availability for LTE. This will be followed by ongoing optimization of the network in order to enhance end-user experience.

    “We have been strategic partners to both Vodafone India and Idea Cellular for several years, and now we enter a new phase of partnership with this deal with Vodafone Idea,” Ericsson head of SEA, Oceania and India Nunzio Mirtillo said.

    “The 5G-ready solutions in the Ericsson Radio System portfolio will help boost the capacity of Vodafone Idea’s LTE network and broaden the availability of high-quality mobile broadband services for its customers. These deployments will play an important role in building [the operator’s] future-ready 5G network.”

    Vodafone India and Idea Cellular completed a $23 billion merger in September, but the combined company is currently operating both the Vodafone and Idea brands independently.

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  • Samsung buys Spanish AI firm Zhilabs in prep for 5G

    Samsung buys Spanish AI firm Zhilabs in prep for 5G

    Samsung Electronics announced that it has acquired Barcelona-based artificial intelligence startup Zhilabs in a bid to further enhance its 5G capabilities.

    Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

    Zhilabs will be fully owned by Samsung, but it will continue to operate independently under its own management, the South Korean vendor said in a statement.

    Zhilabs provides AI-based network and service analytics solutions and its products are used by telecoms carriers including Celcom, Maxis, NTT East, Telenor, O2, Vodafone, TIM, and Telefonica.

    Samsung said AI-based automation will play a central role in the introduction of new services driven by 5G, such as industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and connected cars, as carriers seek to implement new automated solutions and network virtualization features.

    “5G will enable unprecedented services that generate exponentially greater data traffic, for which automated and intelligent network analytics tools are vital,” said Youngky Kim, president and head of networks business at Samsung Electronics.

    “The acquisition of Zhilabs will enable Samsung to help carriers meet these demands to measure and ensure the quality of each subscriber’s service experience.”

    The acquisition of Zhilabs is also part of the company’s pledge, announced in August, to invest 25 trillion won ($22 billion) in AI, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals technologies.

  • Indian telco sector facing three more quarters of losses

    Indian telco sector facing three more quarters of losses

    India’s telecoms sector is facing at least three more quarters of losses due to the ongoing price war, according to industry body the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI).

    The Indian GSM industry body’s director general Rajan Mathews told that he believes the market’s current tariffs are unsustainable in the long term.

    The industry’s woes are being added to by high license fee and spectrum charges, including high upfront payments, which has guaranteed that the current fiscal year will be tough for the industry.

    The current situation commenced in 2016 when disruptive new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm entered the market with entirely free services during an extended promotion period. The operator continues to charge only for data, at low rates.

    Jio’s strategy prompted established operators to cut prices to compete, and prompted a wave of consolidation that has seen the market reduced to just three private operators – Jio, Bharti Airtel and the combined Vodafone India and Idea Cellular (now Vodafone Idea).

    Mathews said that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and clarity I expected to emerge in the fiscal year 2019-2020, which begins in April next year.

    But he warned that if tariffs continue to decline it will be detrimental to the health of the industry as it will threaten operators’ ability to invest in emerging technologies and in expanding coverage.

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  • COAI appoints Vodafone India’s Sunil Sood as chairman

    COAI appoints Vodafone India’s Sunil Sood as chairman

    Indian telecoms industry body COAI has appointed Vodafone India managing director and CEO Sunil Sood as chairman and Bharti Airtel COO Ajai Puri as vice chairman.

    Sood was vice chairman of the industry body for the last two years. He succeeds Bharti Airtel MD and CEO for India and South Asia, Gopal Vittal.

    Puri has been with Bharti Airtel since 2004 and has held several senior leadership positions.

    The new leadership was announced at COAI’s annual general body meeting for the financial year held on June 8.

    On the appointments, COAI director general Rajan S Mathews said: “We would like to thank our leadership for their guidance and support during one of the most challenging periods in the telecoms sector and further express confidence in their ability to steer the association and the sector towards long term health and stability. “

    Ina Lui joins AsiaSat as VP of business development and strategy

    Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) has named Ina Lui as vice president of business development and strategy, a role responsible for driving new business and strategic initiatives for the company.

    Liu has more than 25 years of experience in the satellite, telecommunications and technology sectors, covering areas in sales, marketing, product and business development.

    She has worked in Singapore, South China and Hong Kong, and has held senior management positions at ABS, Intelsat, PanAmSat and Hong Kong Telecom.

     

    NTT Com names global business planning director and Korean operations chief

    NTT Communications, the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group, has appointed Takuya Enoshima as its director of planning, global business.  Enoshima currently serves as president of NTT Korea.

    Hideaki Niikura, who currently serves at NTT Singapore, will replace Enoshima as president of NTT Korea.

    Both appointments takes effect June 11, NTT Com said.

  • Idea Cellular-Vodafone merger to take off by Q3

    Idea Cellular-Vodafone merger to take off by Q3

    After much delay, Axiata Group Bhd is positive that the merger between its Indian associate company Idea Cellular Ltd and Vodafone India will materialise by the beginning of the third quarter of this year, as just two more approvals are required.

    Speaking to reporters after the group’s AGM yesterday, Axiata president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said that a foreign direct investment approval and a nod from the department of telecommunication are required before India’s second and third largest telco player can merge to become a single entity.

    The huge Indian telco market has seen quite a shake up since the entry of Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Jio, resulting in mergers as well as exits by telco players.

    While the merged entity is expected to face challenges in the first year of operations in the hyper-competitive Indian market, Jamaludin is optimistic that Idea could see a turnaround in two to three years time, negating a need to exit the market.

    Axiata, which currently holds a 16.3% interest in Idea, will see its stake diluted to around 8% after the merger.

    Axiata fell into the red in the first quarter ended March 31, after registering a net loss of RM147.41 million against a net profit of RM239.02 million a year ago due to the share of losses reported by Idea.

    Excluding Idea and foreign exchange impacts, Axiata is cautiously optimistic on its financial performance for this year.

    Meanwhile, as for its infrastructure and services company edotco Group Sdn Bhd, Axiata is looking at two or three major acquisitions in Asean and South Asia, in a bid to become the fifth largest independent tower company in the world by 2021 from the eighth.

    On May 16, Axiata announced that edotco Pakistan Private Limited (edotco PK) has successfully obtained approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), allowing local lenders to fund the acquisition of 13,000 tower assets currently under Deodar Private Limited (Deodar).

    On funding to support its goal of becoming the fifth largest in the world, Axiata is currently engaging with bankers and financial advisers to weigh several funding options, including an initial public offering (IPO) exercise.

    Axiata will also be focusing on its digital-centric five year plan known as Triple Core Growth Engine plan – with key focus on digital telco, digital business and infrastructure, which started last year and is expected to go on until 2021.

    The group is also looking at keeping four of its 30 digital business and selling the rest as part of the plan.

    On the abolishment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and reinstatement of the Sales and Services Tax, Jamaludin said that more details are required on the new ruling before the impact of it can be determined.

    “We have to find out what is the higher ruling. The question is who will bear the cost. In the case of GST, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission decided that they will bear half we will bear half,” he added.

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  • Vodafone New Zealand accused of misleading conduct

    Vodafone New Zealand accused of misleading conduct

    New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has filed 27 charges against Vodafone New Zealand, accusing the operator of engaging in false and misleading conduct with its FibreX hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) service.

    The charges filed in the Auckland District Court allege that Vodafone NZ has been misleading customers since October 2016 by using the name FibreX in advertising and marketing.

    The Commerce Commission alleges that by using the name FibreX Vodafone mislead customers into thinking that FibreX is a full fiber to the home service comparable to the services delivered over the state-subsidized Ultrafast Broadband (UFB) network.

    Vodafone NZ has announced it will defend the charges in court, and insisted it has been clear in its communications throughout the life of the service.

    New Zealand’s Advertising Standards Authority has already ruled that the company’s advertising of FibreX has not been misleading, and noted that customers are more interested in the speed their broadband service can provide than the technology behind it.

    “The single biggest pain point our customers are facing is fiber installation delays by local fibre companies, and FibreX offers an alternative for customers who want to avoid these delays while enjoying the benefits of ultra-fast broadband,” the company said in a statement. https://news.vodafone.co.nz/article/vodafone-defend-fibrex-charges

    “For consumers wanting broadband services at the highest available speeds, FibreX represents an extremely competitive option. We are proud of being able to offer this over our own network and this is why we will stand up to the charges.”

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  • Vodafone India completes tower sale to ATC

    Vodafone India completes tower sale to ATC

    Vodafone India has taken another step towards the closure of its planned merger with Idea Cellular, after the company completed Tuesday the sale of its standalone tower business to ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited (ATC) for 38.5 billion rupees ($592.9 million).

    The company announced in November 2017 that it plans to sell its tower business along with Idea Cellular’s to ATC for a combined $1.2 billion, as part of its plan to merge with Idea Cellular to form the largest mobile player in India.

    With the completion of the sale of Vodafone’s tower business, a similar announcement is expected from Idea Cellular in the coming months, Vodafone said in a company statement.

    “In the Vodafone India / Idea merger announcement of 20 March 2017, both parties announced their intention to sell their individual standalone tower businesses to strengthen the combined financial position of the merged entity. The merger is expected to complete in the first half of the current calendar year,” Vodafone added.

    “Completion of Idea’s sale of its standalone tower business to ATC is also expected in the first half of this calendar year.”

    In addition, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have also announced a new executive team to lead the merged entity, which will come into effect after the Vodafone India / Idea merger has been completed.

    Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla will be the non-executive chairman of the merged Vodafone-Idea entity, while Vodafone India COO Balesh Sharma has been named CEO, Idea’s Akshaya Moondra CFO and his colleague Ambrish Jain COO, Vodafone said in a company statement released late March.

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  • Vodafone Australia to roll out Massive MIMO from 2018

    Vodafone Australia to roll out Massive MIMO from 2018

    Vodafone Australia has joined rival Optus is testing massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, and plans to start rolling it out from 2018.

    The operator announced a recent successful trial of Massive MIMO in the 1800-MHz FDD band.

    The trial, conducted with Huawei in a suburb of Sydney, used 20 MHz of 1800-MHz spectrum to achieve a peak cell throughput of 717Mbps across eight simultaneous devices.

    Vodafone revealed plans to roll out its FDD Massive MIMO technology to selected mobile sites during 2018.

    “This week’s demonstration is another significant step towards 5G, following our live 5G trial last year which saw speeds of up to 5Gbps,” Vodafone GM of technology strategy Easwaren Siva said.

    “When it is rolled out in an area, FDD Massive MIMO will give the Vodafone network multiple-fold increase in capacity, delivering a consistently high quality network experience, even in times of high usage.”

    Rival Optus last week announced plans to start rolling out Massive MIMO on its mobile network at the end of the year, after completing trials in June that combined Massive MIMO with three carrier aggregation. This trial was also conducted with Huawei.

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  • CCI clears Vodafone-Idea merger

    CCI clears Vodafone-Idea merger

    The Competition Commission of India has approved the proposed merger between Indian operators Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, which would create the market’s largest mobile operator by subscribers.

    The regulator has cleared a proposal that would see Vodafone initially holding a 50% stake in the combined company, Idea’s major shareholder the Aditya Birla Group holding 21.1% and public shareholders owning 28.9%, the Economic Timesreported.

    Under the plan, Vodafone would then sell a 4.9% stake in the combined operator to the Aditya Birla Group for 39 billion rupees ($605.8 million) in cash upon completion of the merger.

    But both companies still require approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which is investigating whether the deal would trigger an open offer under India’s takeover regulations.

    These rules require entities acquiring at least 25% of a listed company to make an open offer for an additional 26% from public shareholders.

    The proposed $23 billion merger between Vodafone and Idea Cellular was first announced in March. The combined company will have nearly 400 million subscribers and a revenue market share of around 40%, dethroning Bharti Airtel as the current market leader.

    High debts accumulated from spectrum purchases and the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm into the market with its deep pockets and disruptive pricing have triggered a wave of consolidation in India’s telecoms sector. Reliance Communications and Aircel are also pursuing a merger, while Bharti Airtel  last month secured required approvals to acquire Telenor India.

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  • Vodafone New Zealand, Spark step up IoT push

    Vodafone New Zealand, Spark step up IoT push

    New Zealand telecoms operators are entering the race for IoT, with Vodafone and Spark both announcing they will soon roll out IoT networks in the country using low-power, wide-area networking (LPWAN) technologies.

    Following initial tests with technology partner Nokia last September, Vodafone NZ said it will deploy a narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) network early next year to support an expected surge in IoT applications over the coming years.

    Vodafone NZ will pilot the technology with a select group of business customers – including transport technology services company EROAD – during late 2017, before a rollout in early 2018.

    NB-IoT uses dedicated bandwidth and licensed spectrum to deliver secure coverage across vast geographical areas. The 3GPP standard is designed to support a new wave of IoT devices – such as field and waterway sensors – that transmit small amounts of data but have a long, flexible life cycle, up to 15 years in some cases.

    “There are many IoT networks available now but we think NB-IoT is a premium technology choice that is worth waiting for,” said Vodafone technology director Tony Baird. “It is supported by over 40 of the world’s largest mobile operators plus many more suppliers and innovators that serve the majority of the global IoT market.”

    Vodafone NZ currently has more than 1.4 million connected devices operating across its 2G network in the country. The NB-IoT deployment is an evolution of this network, so it can support tens of millions more devices in future, Baird noted.

    On a similar move, incumbent carrier Spark (formerly known as Telecom New Zealand) said it has partnered with Actility and Kordia on designing and building a separate IoT network based on the LoRa (Low Range) standard.

    “A significant proportion” of the network is expected to be operational by June 2018, enabling sensors and devices to be connected over the LoRa network nationwide, with broad coverage at an affordable price point, Spark said in a statement.

    Michael Stribling, Spark’s general manager for IoT, said the company is also advancing plans to deploy mobile network-based IoT networks (LTE-M1 and Narrow-Band LTE).

    “We believe that there are different use cases emerging for different IoT networks, depending on the level and type of data that needs to be transmitted by IoT devices. In making an investment in LoRa, in addition to its LTE investments, Spark believes it will be in position to provide the broadest set of IoT solutions to its customers,” the executive said.

    Spark has already involved in the “Connected Farms” trial with Farmlands, NIWA and Ballance Agri-Nutrients, as well as device partners to roll-out pilot IoT capabilities on farm in the Waikato. The trial, which launched in April, is a new concept for farm digital services which aimed to demonstrate new levels of connectivity for farmers enabled by smart sensor technologies.

    Both Vodafone NZ’s and Spark’s IoT announcements come in the wake of a New Zealand IoT Alliance report predicting that New Zealand could reap NZ$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion) of economic benefits over ten years from the application of the IoT across key sectors of the economy.

    That report aligns with IDC predictions that New Zealand will be APAC’s third most mature market in terms of IoT units per capita by 2020 – naming the agricultural sector as a key growth driver.

    “IoT is approaching a tipping point and it’s starting to transform the way we live our lives and run our businesses,” Baird said.

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  • Vodafone Group swings to $6.7b loss on India

    Vodafone Group swings to $6.7b loss on India

    Vodafone Group has swung to a €6.1 billion ($6.76 billion) full-year loss as a result of a €3.7 billion writedown on its Indian operations.

    Vodafone India recorded an impairment of loss of €4.51 billion for the financial year as a result of the anticipated impact of the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm into the market and the resulting intense price competition.

    The Indian unit reported an operating loss for the financial year of €4.17 billion, compared to a 423 million operating profit a year earlier. Service revenue also fell 4.9%, or 0.7% on an organic basis, to €5.85 billion.

    But after Vodafone India reached its agreement to merge with Idea Cellular to create India’s largest mobile operator, the impairment charge was reduced to €3.7 billion. Idea Cellular recently also posted a net loss for the financial year.

    Vodafone India’s total net debt meanwhile grew to €8.7 billion by the end of the financial year, up from €8.1 billion at end-2016. Some €7 billion of this was spectrum-related debt

    The impending merger has now led Vodafone to classify Vodafone India as part of its discontinued operations for reporting services.

    The Vodafone Group’s total revenue meanwhile fell 4.4% to €47.63 billion, but operating profit grew 182.2% to €3.72 billion.

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  • Vodafone India, Idea to merge into India’s top cellco

    Vodafone India, Idea to merge into India’s top cellco

    India’s second and third ranked mobile operators, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, have revealed plans to merge to create the India’s largest operator by market share.

    The companies have announced that Vodafone will combine its Vodafone India subsidiary with Idea Cellular in a deal worth around $23 billion.

    The combined company will have around nearly 400 million subscribers and is expected to have a revenue market share of around 40%, propelling it ahead of current market leader Bharti Airtel.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Vodafone will take a 45.1% stake in the combined company while the owner of the Idea brand – the Aditya Birla Group – will have about 26%.

    Vodafone will transfer a stake of around 4.9% of the company for around 39 billion rupees ($579 million) as part of this transaction, and there will be a mechanism in place designed to equalise the shareholdings within four to nine years. Until this takes place, the voting rights will be equalised.

    The marger excludes Vodafone’s 42% stake in Indus Towers, the joint venture established between the Bharti Group, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular to manage the operators’ tower infrastructure.

    “The combination of Vodafone India and Idea will create a new champion of Digital India founded with a long-term commitment and vision to bring world-class 4G networks to villages, towns and cities across India,” Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao commented.

    “The combined company will have the scale required to ensure sustainable consumer choice in a competitive market and to expand new technologies – such as mobile money services – that have the potential to transform daily life for every Indian. We look forward to working with the Aditya Birla Group to create value for all stakeholders.”

    Meanwhile fellow Indian operators Reliance Communications (RCom) and Aircel are one step closer to executing their planned merger.

    RCom announced in a regulatory filing that it has secured approval from the Competition Commission of India for the proposed merger, which was announced in September last year.

    The companies have already secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India as well as the BSE and NSE stock exchanges, but still requires the go-ahead from the National Company Law Tribunal.

    Under the terms of the planned merger, RCom and Aircel parent Maxis Communications will each hold 50% of the combined company.

  • Vodafone New Zealand’s merger with SKY TV rejected

    Vodafone New Zealand’s merger with SKY TV rejected

    New Zealand regulator the Commerce Commission has declined to approve the proposed merger between Vodafone New Zealand and SKY Network Television on competition grounds.

    The commission held that a merger between the companies would negatively impact competition in the premium sports content market.

    “The proposed merger would have created a strong vertically integrated pay-TV and full service telecommunications provider in New Zealand owning all premium sports content,” Commerce Commission chair Dr Mark Berry said.

    “We acknowledge that this could result in more attractive offers for Sky combined with broadband and/or mobile being available to consumers in the immediate future…[but] the evidence before us suggests that the potential popularity of the merged entity’s offers could result in competitors losing or failing to achieve scale to the point that they would reduce investment or innovation in broadband and mobile markets in the future.”

    The Commerce Commission said it had particular concerns that the merger could impact the competiveness of key third players in these markets such as 2degrees and Vocus.

    “This is also against a backdrop of fibre being rolled out, making it an opportune time for the merged entity to entice consumers to a new offer,” Berry said.

    “If significant switching occurred, the merged entity could, in time, have the ability to price less advantageously than without the merger or to reduce the quality of its service. Given we are not satisfied that we can say that competition is unlikely to be substantially lessened by the proposed merger, we must decline clearance.”

    In a terse statement, Vodafone New Zealand acknowledged the regulator’s decision but made no further comment.

    Under the proposed merger, Vodafone Group would have taken up to a 51% stake in Sky TV, which itself would acquire up to 100% of Vodafone New Zealand. The merged entity would have been controlled by Vodafone Group.

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  • Vodafone India, Idea may announce a merger soon

    Vodafone India, Idea may announce a merger soon

    Vodafone India and Idea Cellular are reportedly on the verge of finalizing the terms of a major merger that would create India’s largest operator by subscribers.

    The operators are expected to finalize the agreement within a month and could be ready to announce a deal by the end of the week.

    Vodafone Group has brought in former India head Martin Pieters to work on the proposed merger, according to the report.

    But the proposed merger could be complicated by the fact that Indian regulations prohibit an operator from holding more than 25% of the total spectrum allocated in a single circle, 50% of the spectrum from a single band within a circle and 50% revenue or subscriber market share.

    The operators may therefore need to agree to divest certain spectrum and other assets to secure regulatory approval.

    A merger between the two operators would create an entity with a revenue market share of around 40% and a subscriber base of over 380 million, propelling the combined company ahead of current market leader Bharti Airtel.

    India’s crowded mobile industry is going through a consolidation phase, triggered by intensifying competition as a result of the entry into the market of disruptive and deep-pocketed newcomer Reliance Jio Infocomm.

    Aircel and Reliance Communications are reportedly also negotiating a merger, and Telenor India is said to be attempting to get in on the deal to make it a three-way merger. The combined company would be the second largest operator in the market behind Airtel, or the third largest in the event of a Vodafone-Idea merger

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