Vodafone leads the charge for new service revenues from wholesale, as O2, Orange, T-Mobile and 3 respond to its aggressive strategy in the space

All UK network operators are aggressively pursuing new MVNO business in order to grow their service revenues.

Vodafone wholesale boss Tim Stone (pictured) said: “We are seeking to grow aggressively. We are talking to a lot of people – there are four or five big brands we’re talking to at this time.”

O2 head of wholesale Phil Crookes said O2 had revised its wholesale strategy, considered conservative, in recent months to keep pace with Vodafone.

He said: “We recognise now our competitors have become much more aggressive, that the market has moved on. So, we are taking a more open approach.”

Orange refused to comment, but a source claimed: “Orange is very interested in wholesale. It is striving to secure the right deals and to grow share quickly, in the way Vodafone has done.”

Orange is expected to confirm an MVNO deal with ethnic market MVNO Lycamobile shortly.

Meanwhile, head of wholesale for T-Mobile International Ralf Weber said: “We realise our partners have opened up, but we are the market leader and we are very much in hunting mode.”

T-Mobile’s new MVNO partnership with Swedish flat-pack furniture chain Ikea goes live today.

3, meanwhile, is expected to announce a business MVNO with distributor EBS shortly.

A 3 spokesman said: “We are open for business. We have capacity for a lot of voice traffic on our network, so the MVNO model appeals to us.”

The UK wholesale market is estimated to be worth £1 billion at present, and to grow to twice that by 2012. T-Mobile takes around 60 per cent of the market, principally via its MVNO deal with Virgin Mobile. Vodafone and O2 take around 17 per cent each. Orange and 3 share the remainder.

SOURCE: Mobile News International

Q3 and 4 range to feature raft of high-spec devices along with new Skypephone 3 has unveiled a new product line up for Q3 and 4, including a new Skypephone, laptop bundles, the BlackBerry Bold, Nokia N96, Samsung Tocco and Sony Ericsson Experia.

3’s new Skypephone, titled S2, will be on sale from August 18 as a follow up to the original handset, which sold 100,000 units last year.

The new version features a 3.2 megapixel camera, and integration of Skype contacts into the handset’s phone book. It also has built-in software to enable the handset to be used as a USB modem when plugged into a computer. It will be free on selected contracts and £70 on prepay.

The Bold is the first 3G BlackBerry and is poised to boost 3’s revamped business offerings announced last month. Available in November, the device is also being used to help push 3’s consumer mobile internet offerings, such as £2.50 per month for prepay customers’ use of web email and 10MB of data, and £5 per month contract unlimited data bolt on. 3 said it had installed new ‘transcoding’ software to automatically make all websites mobile compatible.

The network has also moved into the laptop scene by bundling the HP 130 mini-notebook, USB modem and 5GB of data a month for £30. For an extra £5, customers can get a HP 2133 and 150 text messages. For still £5 more and £49.99 upfront, customers get a HP dv6910 Pavilion with 250 texts.

Pricing and availability of the Samsung Tocco and Nokia N96 are to be confirmed.

SOURCE: Mobile News International

RELATED SITES: 3 Direct, 3 Mobile Broadband

Customers will need to opt in to prevent ‘bill shock’ 3 has barred customers from international data roaming to protect them from racking up massive bills abroad.

Customers will have to contact the network to request the service, but a £50 limit will still be put in place. Those anticipating high usage will have to request it, following a further credit check.

3 UK chief executive Kevin Russell said: “Due to the huge disparity in what we charge on our networks and the costs charged by many others for wholesale roaming in Europe, which we are forced to pass on to the customer, we have decided to make a data roaming bar the default for contract mobile broadband users.

“We have seen customers on other networks run up bills of more than £4,000 just for downloading a few TV shows. We have to draw attention to this, as the use of dongles is growing rapidly and many more customers are in danger of shock bills.”

The European Commission is currently consulting on the issue of excessive wholesale rates and has suggested a 35 Euro cents per megabyte wholesale rate across the EU.

SOURCE: Mobile News International

RELATED SITES: 3 Mobile Broadband