Tag: wireless industry

Vodafone expected to announce job cuts

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BlackBerry Cool
on November 10, 2008, at 9:31 am
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­Considering the current state of the global economy, expect more news of this sad nature in the coming weeks. Carrier Vodafone is expected this week to announce a substantial job cut of its European workforce aimed at generating savings of £1 billion (US$1.6 billion). This news comes in addition to previous warnings from Vodafone that their sales have remained difficult in its UK and Spanish markets. Vodafone is expected Tuesday to post a half-year operating profit of £5.7 billion on sales of £19.8 billion.

“Whether they set a target now or in May, there will have to be a cost plan,” Terence Sinclair, telecoms analyst at Citigroup told the Sunday Times newspaper. “£1 billion is just 3% of sales.”

Hopefully big sales of the BlackBerry Storm 9500 following its launch on the 14th will help to save a few jobs for our European friends.

|via Sunday Times|

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Telus and Bell launching GSM service in 2010

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BlackBerry Cool
on October 16, 2008, at 3:40 pm
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Bell and Telus

Big news for Canadians came out last week regarding their choice of wireless carriers, as it seems that within a few years, Canada will be a fully GSM country. Both Bell and Telus have announced their intention of launching HSPA GSM service by 2010, with the intention of moving towards an eventual 4G LTE network. Both Bell and Telus plan to layer the upcoming HSPA networks over their CDMA networks, in the hope that the transition to GSM technology will be as painless as possible for their customers.

“Bell’s transition to the global 4G LTE standard with a combined EV-DO and HSPA network path aligns us with more than 30 major carriers worldwide planning a similar move to LTE,” said Stephen Howe, CTO for Bell. “This broad global technology ecosystem will mean a fast, efficient and cost-effective network transition to 4G LTE, and access to the broadest possible range of next-generation phones and data services.”

Bell and Telus’ shift to GSM will likely bring about a major shake up in the Canadian wireless market. With all three carriers having access to the latest and greatest devices, consumers should benefit from the resulting price point war over voice and data services. Post a comment and let us know if you think an all-GSM Canada is a win-win for consumers and carriers not named Rogers.

(via RCR Wireless)

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Americans want fun from their smartphones

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BlackBerry Cool
on October 2, 2008, at 9:23 am
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mobile entertainment

Yesterday we reported that the majority of European businesspeople were unwilling to trade in their favored handset for mobile email access. Today we can tell you that 87.5% of U.S. smartphone users access entertainment content (i.e. games, music, video) from their devices according to a survey by Artificial Life. In addition, 33 percent of those surveyed use their phone for entertainment over any other purpose, including email, GPS and Internet browsing.

It’s been tossed around that RIM’s BlackBerry subscriber base is now growing at an equal 50-50 split between enterprise and prosumer, and with reports like this it’s easy to see why. Why I’m sure that the majority of BlackBerry Cool readers wouldn’t give up their email for anything, I’m interested in hearing how important entertainment is to you.

(via CN)

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Nokia CEO targets RIM

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BlackBerry Cool
on October 2, 2008, at 8:53 am
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Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo

Speaking at the Churchill Club, a speakers’ forum for Silicon Valley civic leaders, Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo had a few things to say about a variety of his competitors (Google, Apple, etc.), but saved his strongest words for RIM. While he said he was impressed by RIM’s strategy to sell not just devices but whole solutions for managing corporate e-mail securely, he indicated that Nokia’s recent deal to place Microsoft email support on Nokia’s 80 million Series 60 phones as the key to defeating the boys and girls from Waterloo.

“Multiply what RIM has been doing here,” the Nokia executive said of his own company’s strategy to provide e-mail not only to business users but also consumers and a category of avid users in between the two markets, nicknamed “prosumers.”
“We will exceed the RIM client (BlackBerry) in some months with a very good e-mail system,” Kallasvuo promised.

What do you think, folks? Typical CEO bluster or a laying of the gauntlet. Nokia certainly sells a lot of phones every year, and a lot more than RIM…

(via Reuters)

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European business users won’t change phone for email

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BlackBerry Cool
on October 1, 2008, at 8:45 am
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businessmen

In the wake of a global recession and sharp stock drop, these kind of reports can be great news for RIM. New market research conducted by Globo has reported that 65% of European business users aren’t ready to replace their handsets ‘just to have access to emails’, despite almost half of the sample (47%) stating a desire for Internet access via their mobile phone.

“Our research has found that a mobile device’s ‘look and feel’ ranks high in the selection process, and emotion is high on the agenda too,” commented Costis Papadimitrakopoulos, Founder and CEO of Globo. “We also know that for every person who would queue to be the first with the latest gadget, there is also another who wouldn’t change their service provider for anything.

Globo’s research found that just 8.6% were interested in the technical aspects, capabilities and functionality of a mobile device, while the majority were simply concerned about the handset’s user-interface, price, its battery life and network coverage.

(via CN)

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CRTC launches National Do Not Call List (BlackBerry Bytes)

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BlackBerry Cool
on October 1, 2008, at 12:16 am
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telemarketerGreat news for Canadians who hate getting telemarketer calls on our BlackBerrys (I’m looking at you, GoodLife). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) launched the National Do Not Call List yesterday, allowing citizens of the Great White North to register their residential, wireless, fax or VoIP telephone numbers. However, registering with the DNCL won’t prevent every solicitation call:

Telemarketers have up to 31 days to update their lists and to make sure they do not call you. You could still receive calls within those first 31 days. Registering on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) will not eliminate all telemarketing calls. There are exemptions within the Rules that may allow calls from organizations such as charities, those with whom you have existing business relationships, political parties and newspapers.

CRTC National Do Not Call List Registration

(via MobileSyrup)

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U.S Stock Market in freefall, everybody gets hit

Posted
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BlackBerry Cool
on September 30, 2008, at 12:11 am
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nasdaq crash

The state of the United States economy is such that there seems to be no sector that can avoid the chain of falling dominoes. Partially in reaction to the U.S. House of Representatives failing to pass the proposed $700 billion dollar bailout bill, the NASDAQ dropped 200 points yesterday, around 9% of its total value.

While RIM continued its downward slide, losing approx. 11% of its total value to close at $61.50/share, it was hardly the only technology company in our sphere to get hit. Apple dropped 17.4%, while Google and Adobe dropped around 11%.

For the employees and families of all those companies involved, we hope something can jumpstart the U.S. economy before things get worse. Check out our current Weekly Contest and let us know if you think RIM will be okay.

(via WSJ)

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FCC voting on 700MHz D-Block (BlackBerry Bytes)

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BlackBerry Cool
on September 29, 2008, at 10:12 am
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FCC LogoThe FCC is currently voting on what to do about the D-Block, the 700Mhz chunk of the wireless public safety spectrum which had previously been up for auction despite Verizon’s litigious attempts to block it. However, many commercial bidders fear that the auction plan as structured is not commercially viable, while public safety groups and a few members of Congress feel that the spectrum would be more effectively split into regional licenses rather than a national one.

Ars Technica has a wonderful summary of the entire situation, which can be found here.

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Do you want to make a call on a plane?

Posted
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BlackBerry Cool
on September 29, 2008, at 9:40 am
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Snakes on a plane

Airlines Ryanair and Emirates have both recently announced that their passengers will soon be able to make mobile calls during flights. However, a recent poll by Wanderlust Magazine shows that the majority of travelers would rather fly with snakes. Polling over 1000 readers, 76% said they would never use a mobile phone in the air and only 2% said they would use their phone regularly. Dan Linstead, Editor of Wanderlust indicates that the negative response relates to both cost and sanity:

“The message from our readers, who are all seasoned travellers, is loud and clear. Planes are one of the last sacred mobile-free havens and they want it to stay that way – let’s hope the airlines start listening… The interruption is one thing but people also need to realise that mid-air chats won’t come cheap. Emirates say the average call costs more than £2 a minute, so someone’s making quite a bit of money out of it too.”

Now, obviously, I’m sure every reader of BlackBerry Cool would love to send and receive emails during flights. Making calls is another issue, however. Would you want the ability to make a call from you BlackBerry during a flight? Or would you rather make sure your fellow passengers can’t? Post a comment and let us know.

(via CN)

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Sprint sells 3,000 towers to TowerCo

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Douglas Soltys
on September 25, 2008, at 9:11 am
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Sprint fire sale

Interesting news for those closely following Sprint’s future today. Cellular-News is reporting that Sprint Nextel has completed the previously announced sale of approximately 3,080 towers to TowerCo for an estimated US$670 million in cash. The two companies have also signed a long-term leasing agreement for TowerCo to provide Sprint Nextel with wireless communications towers to support the company’s CDMA, iDEN and WiMAX networks.

“Leasing rather than owning these network facilities is a more efficient use of resources and allows us to focus more closely on our core business of providing communications services to our customers,” said Bob Azzi, Sprint senior vice president - Network Services. “This deal also gives Sprint additional liquidity and greater flexibility in managing our business.”

From an outsider’s perspective, it’s difficult to say if this is a smart move on Sprint’s part or a desperate cash grab. When the sale was first announced, BBCool reader Chris L. put it into perspective this way:

If they are desperate for the capital, its like reverse mortgaging your house. Not a good idea unless you’re almost dead.

If they aren’t desperate for the capital, then obviously this TowerCo can do it cheaper than they can. To me, that says they aren’t geared for efficiency, good organization, or any other good characteristics. Its not like outsourcing the IT or HR needs of a small company, we’re talking the bread and butter function. If 3M can outsource production of their sticky pads, it would raise serious questions about 3M’s viability.

Of course, on the optimistic side, it could mean they are rolling out LTE or WiMax or something and have it ready to go, and just don’t want to deal with their legacy network themselves anymore. Right? Please?

Thoughts, people? Is this a time for optimism about Sprint Nextel, or a sign that they’re better at selling off their business than running it?

(via CN)

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