Category Archives: Vodafone

Vodafone to sell Italian business to Swisscom for €8bn

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UK telecoms group says some of proceeds will be returned to investors via share buybacks

Vodafone is selling its Italian business to Swisscom for €8bn (£6.8bn) cash and plans to return €4bn to shareholders.

The telecoms company said it had reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Italy as part of wider plans to streamline its European operations and that some of the proceeds would be returned to investors via share buy-backs. Vodafone will continue to provide certain services to Swisscom for up to five years as part of the transaction.

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Vodafone should spin off sensitive work after UAE deal, say UK officials

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National security concerns focus on arm of Vodafone that provides sensitive tech to government departments and agencies

Vodafone should be forced to spin off its most sensitive activities in order to quash national security concerns raised by a United Arab Emirates-backed telecoms group swooping on its shares, government officials have told the Guardian.

The deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, announced on Wednesday that the deal involving Emirates Telecommunications Group building a 14.6% stake in Vodafone presented a “national security risk” to the UK due to Vodafone’s role “as a strategic supplier of services” to government departments, including those “which are in support of national security”.

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Emirates-backed stake in Vodafone is security risk, says UK

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UAE firm’s increased investment prompts Cabinet Office order for security panel at telecoms company

The stake in Vodafone held by a United Arab Emirates-backed telecoms group poses a national security risk to the UK, the government said.

The Cabinet Office issued a notice late on Wednesday warning that the 14.6% stake held in Vodafone by Emirates Telecoms, which is also known as e&, amounted to a security concern given Vodafone’s strategic role in the country’s telecommunications services.

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UK’s top mobile firms face £3.3bn class action lawsuit over ‘loyalty penalties’

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Campaigner Justin Gutmann alleges EE, Vodafone, Three and O2 have ‘systematically exploited millions of loyal customers’

The UK’s biggest mobile phone companies face a £3.3bn class action lawsuit alleging that long-standing customers are being ripped off by “loyalty penalties”, under which the same services are offered to new customers at a better price to lure them from rivals.

The legal action, which has been brought by the campaigner Justin Gutmann and the law firm Charles Lyndon, targets BT-owned EE, Vodafone, Three and O2, which is part of Virgin Media O2.

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Vodafone-Three merger could add up to £300 a year to mobile bills, says union

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Tie-up is a ‘terrible deal for Britain’ that also poses risks for national security, Unite claims

Mobile phone bills could rise by as much as £300 a year as a result of the merger of the UK operations of Vodafone and the owner of Three, a trade union has said.

Unite has been a vocal critic of the proposed deal, which would create the UK’s largest mobile operator, and said that it is a “terrible” deal that also poses risks for national security.

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Optus best mobile network for overall availability and Vodafone leads for 5G, report finds

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In test of Australia’s three networks, Open Signal finds Telstra has most consistent user experience overall

Telstra may be Australia’s largest 5G network but Optus fares better for overall network availability and Vodafone leads for 5G availability, according to Open Signal’s latest review of the country’s three mobile networks.

Analyst firm Open Signal tested the three networks across the country in city and regional locations for three months from January to March this year.

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US firm Liberty Global buys stake in Vodafone after tumultuous year

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‘Cable cowboy’ John Malone rules out takeover bid but says he believes UK telecoms company is undervalued

The US telecoms group chaired by “cable cowboy” John Malone has snapped up a stake in Vodafone in a bet on the UK company’s revival – but has ruled out making a takeover bid.

Liberty Global, which is an investor in ITV and Virgin Media O2, told investors on Monday it had acquired a 4.92% stake in Vodafone, saying it believed the shares were undervalued.

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Vodafone to remove Huawei from core European networks

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Move will cost €200m over five years but have limited financial impact on UK operations

Vodafone is to remove Huawei equipment from the sensitive, core parts of its mobile networks across Europe at a cost of €200m (£169m) over the next five years.

The group, which has 111 million customers across Europe, has taken the decision after the UK government’s move last week to limit the use of Huawei equipment in the country’s 5G network.

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By air or sea, your untouched mobile can automatically rack up a £1,000-plus bill

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Even if travellers’ phones are in baggage and not used, they can link to a satellite network on premium rates

Gay Haines had stowed her mobile phone in her hand baggage before her flight to Barbados and forgot to set it to flight mode. The mistake cost her dear. On arrival, she discovered that she had racked up charges of £1,095, twice the price of the transatlantic fare. “I had not used it to make or receive calls and when I opened it after landing there was no mention of any charges,” she says.

Haines is one of dozens of air and sea passengers who have received shock bills after their phones connected automatically to a satellite roaming network. While EU rules cap roaming fees outside Europe at €50, the legislation does not apply to satellite networks on planes and boats, which charge premium rates for data, wanted or not, unless customers actively switch off data roaming.

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