UK telco Vodafone is set to become the third operator in Oman after signing an agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Communications that will see Oman Future Telecommunications work with the firm to deploy the country’s third mobile network.
The UK new entrant will have its work cut out for it with respect to gaining market share with Oman’s mobile penetration rate estimated at over 150%
In May, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Oman said a memorandum of understanding had been signed between a group of investment funds in Oman and Vodafone. Upon commercialisation, Vodafone will become the third cellco in Oman behind Omantel and Nawras, and will also have to contend with two mobile virtual network operators – Virgin Mobile Middle East and Renna Mobile.
The UK
new entrant will have its work cut out for it with respect to gaining market
share with Oman’s mobile penetration rate estimated at over 150%.
The decision by the US to add Huawei and some of its affiliates to a trade blacklist back in May, which had additional Huawei-linked companies added to the list this week, is a concerning development in the rise of powerful forces grappling to deal with the effects of the democratisation of technology through digitisation.
The rise of geopolitics as a method of framing the course of technological advancement and influence is a worrying trend, and has the power to diminish the digital dazzle created by the Web over the last three decades
Disclosure by Samsung recently of weak sales momentum for its premium Galaxy S10 device and stagnant demand for other high-end mobiles in its product line in the quarter to end-June, compounds similar pronouncements from Apple that sales of its iconic, and not inexpensive, iPhone continue to decline. The waning appetite for devices priced above US$500 points to a shift in market sentiment that seems to suggest that features included in high-end devices no longer justify the premium charged over medium-range ones. Or at least points to – and service providers and device manufacturers will be keenly hoping as much – consumers holding off spending top dollar on current generation devices in anticipation of the mass introduction of 5G handsets in the quarters to follow.
Samsung recently disclosed weak sales momentum for its premium Galaxy S10 device and stagnant demand for other high-end mobiles, as have rival device manufacturers
Vodafone
Idea, the India mobile operator created last year by the merger of Vodafone
India and Idea Cellular, has announced plans to close its m-Pesa mobile money
transfer business alongside the Payments Bank previously operated under the
Idea brand, according to media reports in India.
The economic model for the Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank is described as being no longer viable, and Vodafone Idea is also set to stop operating m-Pesa
During
the company’s recent fiscal Q1 media call, Vodafone Idea CEO, Balesh Sharma said
the economic model for the Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank was no longer viable
and together with winding-up the unit, Vodafone Idea would also move to stop operating
m-Pesa.
Sharma
attributed the decisions to regulatory changes for the banking business and
deterioration of the telecommunications sector.
Abitya
Birla Idea Payments Bank was part of a scheme by authorities in India to increase
access to financial saving services, though similar services from Bharti Airtel
and Paytm have also faced difficulties, with both forced to suspend services by
regulators for a period during 2018.
Following
in the footsteps of Middle East operators such as Zain and Etisalat, Vodafone,
Europe’s largest mobile operator, is putting into motion plans to spin-off its
pan-European mobile tower business, in a process that could see the standalone
company established as early as May 2020.
Mobile operators the world over have been struggling to grow revenues for years, and in a bid to do so, have become more open to opportunities to unlock embedded value in their operations. Vodafone recently reported that for the three months to end-June, year-on-year revenue was down 2%
Vodafone
intends to monetise a substantial proportion of the new entity, TowerCo, within
the next 18 months and this effort may include a potential flotation on the
stock market, the sale of a minority stake in the whole business or in its tower
operations in individual countries.
TowerCo
will comprise 61,700 towers across 10 countries, with 75% of the sites located
in key European markets of Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. It is forecast the
business will generate annual revenues in the region of €1.7 billion (US$1.9
billion) and €900 million in profits, leading analysts to value the business at
between €15-20 billion.
Mobile
operators the world over have been struggling to grow revenues for years, and
in a bid to do so, have become more open to opportunities to unlock embedded
value in their operations. Vodafone recently reported that for the three months
to end-June, year-on-year revenue was down 2%.
Vodafone
began evaluating a spin-off of the towers business last year, having received several
offers for various parts of its portfolio.
