The joint venture between France Telecom’s Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile UK is planning to start trading in April, and will be Britain’s largest mobile operator.

British consumer groups reacted angrily to the European Commission’s decision to approve the merger on the fastest possible timetable, accusing Brussels of clearing the transaction with “indecent haste”.

The merger could also destabilise a UK government-sponsored effort to end a dispute between Britain’s mobile operators over their ownership of radio spectrum.

O2, Telefónica’s UK subsidiary, and Vodafone’s British business are not planning a challenge to the Commission’s decision.

O2 and Vodafone, the UK’s largest and second- largest operators, are instead expected to intensify efforts to poach customers from the new market leader.

Orange and T-Mobile, the third- and fourth-largest operators, are attempting an ambitious integration that is supposed to provide cost savings of £3.5bn.

The operators are planning to rationalise their networks and retail shops, and cut staff.

Tom Alexander, chief executive designate of the combined Orange/T-Mobile entity, expressed confidence that the integration would run smoothly and insisted the transaction was “great news” for consumers.

The merger will cut the number of British network operators from five to four, and consumer groups had called on UK competition authorities to investigate the transaction.

Which?, the consumer magazine and campaigns organisation, accused the Commission of failing to protect consumers’ interests.

Brussels’ decision to approve the merger is conditional on the combined Orange/T-Mobile entity having an infrastructure-sharing agreement with 3, the UK’s smallest network operator owned by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa.

The Commission said 3’s viability could be threatened if it did not have a network-sharing deal with the joint venture that would save costs.

Source: Financial Times

Here are highlights of new monthly plans:

• Customers can get fixed minutes and text deals on the following monthly costs – £10, £15, £20, £25, £30, £35 and £40 (24 month contracts)
• The deals will also be available on 18 month contracts for an additional £5 per month.

Tariffs range from 100 minutes and 100 texts for £15 per month to 1,200 minutes and 500 texts for £35 a month. Customers will pay £5 more for 18-month tariffs than 24-month deals allowing equivalent monthly airtime. Customers will now get a Flexible booster in addition to their text and minutes as part of their contract, which they can change each month. The flexible boosters include:

• Unlimited texts
• Unlimited internet
• Unlimited landline talk
• Unlimited T-Mobile talk
• Euro talk & text
• USA & Canada talk
• Europe &Amsterdam talk

Customers can ALSO buy another booster in addition to the one with their contract for only £5 extra a month.

T-Mobile is also dropping its ‘Solo’ SIM-only brand from March 1 for a range of ‘SIM-only’-branded propositions at new pricepoints. Rolling one-month deals start at £10 per month for 100 minutes and 100 texts,  and rise to £25 per month for 900 minutes and 500 texts.

Twelve-month SIM-only deals allow 600 minutes and 500 texts for £15 a month, and rise to 1,200 minutes and 500 texts for £25 per month. All unlimited text bundles have been removed.

SIM-only customers also get to select a free booster, and opt in for further bundles at £5 a go.

Existing Solo plans (affording 300 minutes and unlimited texts for £15 a month, 600 minutes and unlimited texts for £20 a month and 800 minutes and unlimited texts for £25 a month) are available until March 1.

Up till now, you had to pay subscription fee for it and I don’t think it had many users, especially here in UK.

This is Nokias bold move to attract new customers to it’s high-end market. Nokia has been loosing a lot of customers in this segment to Apple and to phones running on Android platform. Recently Nokia has failed to impress customers with it’s latest smartphones, competition has produced much more interesting and innovative products.

In the press statement, Nokia says that the new version of Ovi Maps includes high-end car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice guidance for 74 countries, in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries, as well as detailed maps for more than 180 countries.

Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia said: “This is a game changing move. By leveraging our NAVTEQ acquisition, and our context sensitive service offering, we can now put a complete navigation system in the palm of your hand, wherever in the world you are, whenever you need it – and at no extra cost. By adding cameras at no extra cost to our phones we quickly became the biggest camera manufacturer in the world. The aim of the new Ovi Maps is to enable us to do the same for navigation.”

Mapping is one of Nokia’s strongest assets, following the acquisition of Navteq, the electronic map company for $8.1bn in 2007. The move to make the maps free counters Google’s announcement in October that it would offer free maps and turn-by-turn navigation for all new Android phones.

Nokia will be integrating location based services into it’s Maps software, for example there will be interface to Facebook, where you could publish your current location. Traffic information, details of speed cameras and speed limits will also be free.

Source: Nokia Press Release

Have a quick glance at specs:

General: 2G Network     GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network     HSDPA 2100
Size: 129 x 70 x 9.9 mm
Weight: 129 g

Display: TFT resistive touchscreen, 256K colors (65K effective)

480 x 800 pixels, 4.1 inches
- Touch-sensitive navigation controls
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- 3D user interface
- Shake control
Sound:     Alert types     Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone: Yes
Phonebook: Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records: Practically unlimited
Internal Memory: 256 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
Card slot: microSD, up to 16GB
Data: GPRS     Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
EDGE     Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G     HSDPA, HSUPA
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth: Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB: Yes, microUSB
Camera: 3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus
Features: Videocalling
Video:    Yes, VGA@30fps
OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor
Messaging: SMS (threaded view), EMS, MMS, Email
Colors: Black, White
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support
Java: Yes, MIDP 2.0
- Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, PDF viewer)
- MP3/MP4 player
- Facebook and YouTube apps
- Photo editor
- Voice memo/dial
- Organizer
Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh
Stand-by: Up to 276 h
Talk time: Up to 5 h

Phone definately has all the top specs you need from a smartphone, to name a few: 1GHZ Snapdragon processor, large memory, 4.1 inch display, GPS, HSDPA and accelerometer. Phone is very slim and easily fits in shirt pocket. You would think that this kind of device would cost you dearly, but currently there is a deal at Orange shops where you can get this on Pay as You Go for only £149.99 with £10 top-up. That is very good value for money, especially if you want to use the device for internet surfing and watching videos on the move.

On the other hand, there are few drawbacks that I think worth mentioning. Device runs on Windows 6.5, although much improved, still not the best mobile operating system. Also screen is resistive touchscreen, which means not very responsive to finger touch, but you will be ok using nails or stylus. Headphone jack is only micro USB, but there is an adapter to 3.5 mm bundled in the box.

Offer for this phone is only available from Orange shops or online, so if you are looking for inexpensive large screen phone, get your Toshiba while stocks last!

The company will bundle the Hero with a Spotify Premium subscription for the duration of the handset’s two-year contract, so users can download unlimited tracks from the internet music service. 3 is the first UK mobile operator to offer a Spotify Premium bundle.

“This partnership continues our commitment to bring popular internet services to our customers,” 3’s director of products and services, Charlotte Blanchard, said in the company’s announcement on Monday.

Blanchard added that bundling Spotify Premium with the Hero was a “first step” in the operator’s relationship with the web-based jukebox service. The company intends to extend the Spotify relationship across a range of its products, including some of its mobile broadband deals, she said.

The operator’s Hero deal, which includes unlimited texts, email and internet browsing, costs £35 per month over 24 months, with an additional £99 upfront fee.

A subscription to Spotify Premium, which allows the user to download tracks to their iPhone or Android handset, ordinarily costs £10 per month. Over the two years of 3’s Hero contract, this brings the total value of the bundled service to £240.

A spokesperson for 3 told ZDNet UK that the operator will start selling the Hero sometime in early November, but could not specify the precise date.

Source:  ZDNet

The new joint venture will create the UK’s leading mobile operator. It will have a combined mobile customer base of around 28.4 million, representing approximately 37 percent of UK mobile subscribers*, based on figures at end December 2008. By integrating Orange’s broadband activities, the joint venture will also have the capabilities to offer convergent solutions to its customers in the future. The business will have pro forma 2008 revenues of approximately € 9.4 billion (£7.7 billion) and EBITDA of € 2.1 billion (£1.7 billion) **.

This combination will bring substantial benefits to UK consumers. It will result in expanded network coverage and enhanced indoor and outdoor network quality for 2G and 3G services, as well as better customer proximity through a larger network of own shops and improved customer services. The combination will place the joint venture in a better position to invest in innovative new services and to exploit new technologies. The new enlarged business will also be able to compete more effectively with the other two large mobile operators in the

market.

The key areas for the opex synergies of the joint venture are:

- Network & IT: Large-scale site rationalisation leading to significant savings

notably in site rental expenses, network operations and maintenance

expenses

- Distribution and Marketing: Higher proportion of sales through own shops,

resulting in lower distribution costs; a reduction in the combined number of

stores and savings in marketing costs primarily post roll-out of a new branding

strategy

- Other cost savings: Potential to reduce general and administration costs;

eliminate duplication in core support functions; optimise the workforce notably

in customer service, network and G&A operations

To achieve these opex synergies, the joint venture would expect to invest £600 to

£800 million in integration costs over the period from 2010 to 2014. Those costs

would primarily relate to the decommissioning of mobile sites, the rationalisation of the network of retail stores and the streamlining of operations.

· On the capex side, large scale savings are expected over the first five years following completion of the transaction, resulting from the integration and unification of the networks and from jointly expanding 3G coverage. The potential for capital expenditure savings, net of integration capex, is estimated at £620 million on a cumulative basis over 2010-2014, prior to stabilising at approximately £100 million a year from 2015 onwards.

These benefits will result in significantly improved operational performance, with long term EBITDA margin expected to be superior to those of the current market leaders thanks to size effects and with capex efficiency expected to be best in class.

To create the new joint venture, Deutsche Telekom would contribute T-Mobile UK on a cashfree, debt-free basis, including T-Mobile UK’s 50 percent holding in its 3G network joint venture with Hutchison and gross tax losses carried forward of at least £1.5 billion. France Telecom would contribute the whole of Orange UK including £1.25 billion of intra-group net debt in order to equalize the value of the contributions to the joint venture. Immediately after closing Deutsche Telekom would grant a £625 million shareholder loan to the joint venture, which would be used to simultaneously reimburse £625 million to France Telecom. As a result, the joint venture would have indebtedness of £1.25 billion, represented by two

shareholder loans of £625 million held by each of Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom.

The Board of the new joint venture company will have balanced representation from Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom. The management team would be led by Tom Alexander, currently CEO of Orange UK, as CEO and Richard Moat, currently CEO of TMobile UK, as COO. The governance of the joint venture would attribute extensive operational decision-making to the management team.

The T-Mobile UK and Orange UK brands will be maintained separately for 18 months after completion of the transaction. During that period management will review branding alternatives for the joint venture and will develop a new branding strategy recommendation for shareholder approval.

This transaction is expected to create substantial value for both shareholders and to be accretive from 2010 in terms of free cash-flow per share and from 2011 in terms of earnings per share. Both Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom would recognise their respective interest in the joint venture using the equity method after closing. It is planned that the joint venture will distribute 90 percent of its free cash flow to its two shareholders.

Prior to the signing, which is expected to be end of October, both Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom will undertake confirmatory due diligence and will complete the definitive documentation. The final agreement is subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom and the Board of Directors of France Telecom, and the completion of an agreed transaction would be conditional on approval by the relevant competition authorities.

Source: T-Mobile Press Release

Continuing on the success of this model, Nokia released E72, which is slightly upgraded phone but majority of the features remain the same as in E71. Here is the list of most important changes/updates in E72:

• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Better feel keyboard
• 5 megapixel camera
• 250MB phone memory
• HSDPA/HSUPA
• QuickOffice software included

See Nokia promo video below for this phone:

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone is the latest BlackBerry® smartphone in the Vodafone UK range, which includes the BlackBerry® Storm™ 9500 smartphone – an exclusive to Vodafone.

Priced from free on selected price plans, the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone is ideal for consumers and businesses and of all sizes. Its full QWERTY keyboard features a new touch-sensitive trackpad that makes scrolling through messages and navigating web pages fast and easy. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone also comes with:

* A 2-megapixel camera with zoom and video recording
* Dedicated keys for music and video
* Built- in Wi-Fi®
* Support for business and consumer mobile email
* Advanced media player
* 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and BlackBerry Media Sync
* MicroSD card slot with support for up to 16GB
* A 2GB memory card

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone is available at www.shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobile-phone/blackberry-curve-8520 for consumers, www.vodafone.co.uk/curve8520 for small business customers and through Vodafone Account Managers for Corporate and Public Sector customers.

* For consumer and small business the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone is free on a 24 month contract at £25 a month.
* For Corporate and Public Sector customers, the smartphone is priced at £185.
* The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.

Source: Vodafone Press Centre

Available on an 18 month contract, this value package comes with a usage allowance of 500 Mb per month and download speeds of up to 3.6mbps. So if you are heavy internet user who does downloads, watch online videos and visit graphics heavy sites, 500MB allowance may not be suitable for you.

Customers also receive a free Huawei E160e dongle in either black, white or pink which has been designed to also act as a memory stick so customers can keep their photos, music and films with them whilst on the move.

Source: Orange Press Release

This phone is currently available in US, it will be available in UK during Christmas time 2009.