Austrian telecoms industry plans legal challenge against 4G auction

An auction of fourth-generation (4G) mobile phone frequencies in Austria is being legally challenged by at least two of the three leading telecoms companies in the country.

Hutchison's Whampoa and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile Austria are both planning to launch appeals  against the auction, that was run by regulator Telekom-Control Commission (TCC), because they felt the conditions of the auction endangered competition and pushed prices up too high.

The third telecoms company who took part in the auction, Telekom Austria, is also due to announce whether they've decided to appeal as well.

The auction of the frequencies took place under blind conditions where the bidding companies did not know the size of their rivals' bid. Although a regulator would try to prevent it, there was also the risk that one party would lose out completely as each company was able to bid for up to 50% of the spectrum that was available. This led to the pressure to put in higher bids as a result of fear of losing out completely. Following the auction, the total amount the telecoms companies collectively have to pay for the next-generation frequencies they placed bids for is two billion euros.

H3G, a brand of Hutchison Whampoa, suffered the worst, winning 18% and also missing out in the re-auction of the the valuable 800 megahertz spectrum that would have improved the competitiveness of the company in remote areas.

Chief Executive of the company Jan Trionow described the auction process as illegal in form and in substance. "Drei (H3G) was considerably harmed," he said in a statement on Tuesday. " To simply accept this would be irresponsible."

Along with T-Mobile Austria, H3G are requesting Austria's constitutional and administrative courts to rule that the auction is put on again but the decision will take up to two years, which means the companies may begin work on the 4G frequencies as they are currently divided.


source: http://austrianindependent.com/news/General_News/2013-11-27/14796/Austrian_telecoms_industry_plans_legal_challenge_against_4G_auction

Vodafone reports H1 earnings of stg£6.6bn, Irish customer base reaches 2.4m

Vodafone Group’s financial results for the first half of this year are in line with the company’s expectations, while figures from Ireland position the brand as the mobile market leader.

Vodafone Group plc’s half-year results for the period ended 30 September 2013 report EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) on a management basis down 4.1pc to stg£6.6bn.

Adjusted operating profit on a management basis rose 0.5pc to stg£5.7bn, while free cash flow on a management basis reached stg£2bn.

Vodafone’s full-year guidance forecasts adjusted operating profit of around stg£5bn and free cash flow between stg£4.5bn and stg£5bn.

An interim dividend per share of 3.53 pence represents an increase of 8pc year-on-year, and the company announced its intention to pay full-year dividends per share of 11 pence.

Group revenue on a statutory basis increased by 2.5pc year-on-year, driven by the acquisition of CWW and TelstraClear in the prior year, to stg£19.1bn, with service revenue of stg£17.5bn (a decline of 2.3pc on an organic basis). On a management basis, group service revenue was stg£20.0bn, a decline of 4.2pc on an organic basis.

Profit for the financial period from continuing operations on a statutory basis increased by stg£20bn to stg£15.7bn.

Mature market challenges

“Our emerging markets businesses are performing very well, driven by rapidly increasing smartphone penetration and data usage,” said group chief executive Vittorio Colao.

“In mature markets, our performance reflects more challenging conditions, which we continue to mitigate through ongoing actions to improve our operating model and cost efficiency. This rigorous approach, plus our substantial investments in Vodafone Red, 4G and unified communications services – including our recent acquisition of Kabel Deutschland – are laying strong foundations for the future,” he added.

In terms of consumers, Vodafone now has 7.5m Vodafone Red customers and expects this to grow to 11m-12m by March 2014. Smartphone penetration in Europe is now at 39pc and and data usage continues to grow, with average usage per device now at 400MB per month.

Vodafone has also launched 4G services in 14 markets, with Ireland recently joining that line-up.

Vodafone Ireland

With a total customer base of 2.4m, Vodafone Ireland is the mobile market leader in Ireland, with 2.1m mobile customers.

The number of customers using smartphones on the Vodafone network in Ireland increased by 4.3pc compared to the previous quarter, and almost 70pc of all Vodafone Ireland customers are now using mobile data services.

As well as starting its 4G roll out, Vodafone Ireland completed a network enhancement programme in the south-east in this quarter, and this nationwide programme will eventually see all areas where there are currently voice services receive data, too. The programme also includes voice enhancements to cater for High Definition Voice and advanced coverage.

source:http://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/item/34809-vodafone-reports-h1-earning

Pakistan might remain the only country in South Asia without 3G for a while longer

India has 4G wireless service in a handful of cities, Afghanistan has 3G nationwide, Bangladesh is rolling out a nationwide 3G network, and even Nepal has 3G in major cities. That leaves Pakistan as the only country in South Asia without a high-speed mobile network. The country’s notoriously activist supreme court is trying to force the government into holding the spectrum auction needed to launch 3G services in early 2014—but the country’s equally notorious bureaucracy looks likely to delay things.

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Pakistan, with a population of 180 million and 125 million mobile subscriptions, has come close to holding the spectrum auction several times over the last five years. Each time proceedings have been delayed on a technicality.

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Warn-torn Afghanistan managed to avoid such a quagmire by simply not holding an auction—it simply distributed spectrum licenses to the providers. The government argued that the economic boost from acquiring 3G was more valuable than the one-off windfall from an auction that could become marred in controversy.

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Bangladesh gave a 3G license to the state-owned mobile provider, Teletalk, in 2012, and held an auction for the other mobile operators in September 2013. BTRC, Bangladesh’s telecom regulator, has been applauded for not allowing the government’s fiscal concerns to hijack the agenda and set the reserve price for the auction too high—the mistake made in India.

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But the Pakistan Telecoms Authority (PTA), the regulator, has been without a chief since the last time a spectrum auction was scheduled, in 2012. Plans came to a halt when the PTA said the telecoms operators and other interested bidders had failed to submit an expression of interest in time. The mobile operators, who have been long dogged by fickle government policies and strong competition, said they were never invited to bid.

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The then-chairman of the PTA lost his job over the incident. His nominated successor was challenged by the opposition parties last October, and the two other members of PTA’s committee retired at the start of this year, effectively leaving the telecoms industry in a state of anarchy. Now a public-interest case currently in the supreme court has pushed the government into some semblance of action. It finally appointed an acting chairman and new PTA members early last month to oversee the auction, and set a February 2014 deadline for holding it.

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However, more delays are possible. The government has now put out an advertisement for an international consultant to help with the auction. Case lawyer Ali Raza says that’s an unnecessary delaying tactic; he argues that everything is ready to go, and that the auction needs to happen quickly to avoid special interests marring the process. The next likely stumbling block is where the money from the auction will actually go. The finance ministry wants it to flow directly into the exchequer—a windfall that was somewhat prematurely written into the 2013-14 budget, announced in June. However, by law the money is meant to go to a universal service fund, set up as part of the 1996 telecoms policy (pdf) to make sure remote areas of Pakistan get telecoms service. The wrangle over that could occupy the courts for a good while.

source: http://qz.com/142923/pakistan-might-remain-the-only-country-in-south-asia-without-3g-for-a-while-longer/