Increased competition, mobile internet boom lead to German contraction
October 13, 2009
German mobile services market contracts 3.3% in Q2 | www.telecompaper.com
Increased penetration in the German market is mostly caused by MVNOs on the E-Plus network. These are price-fighters which lead to lower average prices in the market and is hurting the big MNO margins.The growth in mobile internet traffic is not leading to big increases in data ARPUs for MNOs. Flat-fee data plans are great for heavy users, who are basically getting more speed and data for a lower price.
October 1, 2009
Telefonica picks 6 equipment providers for LTE trials | www.telecompaper.com
Telefonica and other operators are setting up trials with LTE. As 3G revenues for operators are still staying behind 9 years after 3G-license acquiring, operators will not speeden up LTE commercial roll out. Telefonica is smartly inviting the big-six infra suppliers to participate in the LTE trials in different countries, thereby having the ability to assess their qualities and indicating to the providers to need to fight to get the LTE- contracts.
Deutsche Telecom T-Mobile & France Telecom Orange - UK Merger to happen
September 8, 2009
Financial Times FT.com | www.ft.com
By creating a joint venture Deustche Telecom's T-Mobile and France Telecom's Orange will aim to head off competition authority concerns over significant market power and yet reap the benefits of economy of scale. The two operators share similar spectrum and technology & have already discussed networking sharing to reduce costs and this takes it one step further. Initially both operators will continue to use their own brands but will have to consider whether to adopt an MVNO approach going forward/
Apple to penetrate last market for iPhone
August 13, 2009
China Unicom Rumoured to Have Placed Order for 5 Million IPhones | www.cellular-news.com
At last Apple gets to make a sizable entry into the Chinese mobile market and launch Chinese versions of its iTunes and Applications for the iPhone with China Unicom. It will also be a good money earner, as the models launched have already recouped their R&D costs so margins will be higher, perhaps one reason it was prepared to forgo its normal revenue sharing approach. This should add at least $13bn to Apples revenues, of which $300m will be operating margin.
Cisco's advantages and challenges. Comparisons to Juniper, ProCurve, Brocade.
August 5, 2009
Cisco’s Sales Will Drop as Much as 17%, Chambers Says | www.bloomberg.com
Cisco's strengths and challenges for their first fiscal quarter and beyond can be further defined when we compare them to their competition. Juniper, HP ProCurve, Avaya, Brocade (Foundry), Nortel, 3COM are vendors that can help us define and understand Cisco. Cisco's success may very well be due to the weakness of their competition versus the strengths of Cisco. In addition, with $30 plus billion of cash they are better positioned than most.
Microsoft has burned too many bridges, IT departments will wait a long time before reinvesting.
July 14, 2009
Six in 10 companies plan to skip Windows 7: survey | tech.yahoo.com
1. ROI with many MS products is low when simply upgrading 2. The total cost of ownership for MS updates is price prohibitive for even enterprise businesses
T-Mobile UK - Deutsche Telekom looking for asset swap?
July 5, 2009
Financial Times FT.com | www.ft.com
Deutsche Telekom are setting the stage for the exit of its current position in the UK mobile market with either, a) an outright exit matched by an acquisition elsewhere b) merger with an existing competitor The former would mean no further brand presence in the UK, while the latter would mean brand presence but a relationship closer to that of its MVNO partner Virgin Mobile. Seeking growth in a non-UK market as a swap is a much better goal for future investment with the promise of higher growth and easier execution of the strategy.
T-Mobile - end of the road in the UK?
July 5, 2009
Telefonica, France Telecom interested in T-Mobile | uk.news.yahoo.com
T-Mobile as a brand may not wish to exit the UK market altogether, however it does not have the marketing strategy and investment needed to maintain its brand strength and more importantly ARPU growth. A merger with 3 and/or Orange of their respective networks could free up valuable funds for market/sales investment. O2 (Telefonica) would only contemplate purchase if it meant over hauling Vodafone on its home territory.
Hunt for T-Mobile UK - worthy acquisition or a spoiling game?
July 5, 2009
Orange and even O2 may bid against Vodafone for T-Mobile UK | www.rethink-wireless.com
T-Mobile UK, as the 4th largest operator has one of the lowest ARPUs and is not gaining on its competitors and its valuation at Euro3.2bn is on the low side. It has excess capacity which could be attractive but that is not the issue, this is about a single move to become the UK's No1 mobile operator overnight and never have to look back over ones shoulder again. Further all the operators are currently at each others throats over 2G Re-Farming, Digital Dividend spectrum auctions and the Digital Britain Broadband Universal Service Obligation requirement that the UK government has put on the table - all this points to a market consolidation. Observers say the UK could end up with 3 mobile operators and just 2 networks plus a couple of major MVNOs!
Opportunities and challenges for Vodafone in UK consolidation
June 29, 2009
Vodafone mulls offer for T-Mobile UK | www.telecompaper.com
Vodafone is seriously looking at taking over T-Mobile UK. This would lead to a 40% market share, way ahead current market leader O2. Vodafone has been focussing increasingly on the developing markets over the last three years, with minor fixed acquisitions in Europe. In that respect, being a potential consolidator in one of the most competitive and largest European markets, might come as a surprise.
February 7, 2012
SOPA and the wisdom of Yogi Berra
January 19, 2012
Larger wafers present a growth opportunity for LEDs
January 6, 2012
Smartphones threaten digital camera industry
December 1, 2011
Google music launches: The end of the end for the music industry
November 22, 2011