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Vodafone in UK

Vodafone UK was going to take part in the bidding for the next-gen mobile licenses which is scheduled to be auctioned in 2011. This was hampered when Everything Everywhere objected and threatened to sue them for the same.

The previous government had an agreement with the UK mobile industry which allowed Vodafone and O2 to give up their 900 Mhz spectrum and replace it with the new spectrum at 800 Mhz and 2.6Ghz. This would have helped the operators to provide Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband. Everything Everywhere Limited, the parent company of Orange and T-mobile, was looking forward to buying 900 Mhz spectrum. Hence, Everything Everywhere have objection with the new coalition government’s decision to invalidate the previous agreement.

Another major problem for the company is that the auction is taking place at the time when the revenue is stagnant. Ofcom Market Communications reported that the average household spending on telecommunications has declined. This was mainly due to less spending by the subscribers on the various mobile services. Hence, at the time, it is difficult for networks to take part in the auction.

Analysts also think that there will be a significant change in the data services provided by Vodafone.

Vodafone is also planning to sell 3.2 % stake that they have in China mobile. China mobile is the largest mobile phone operator in the world. The company is valued at £135 billion currently. They are expecting that the sale of the shares would raise more than £4 billion.

China mobile became popular due to the various acquisitions made at the time. The shareholders are now looking into the viability of their decision. This may cause a major shift for the company. The experts estimate that even though the company is worth over £81 billion, it still is undervalued by a significant 40 % because of its various minority interests. Vodafone, as stated by Vittorio Colao, is going to concentrate on Europe, India and Africa.

Mozbot Team

Mozbot is a UK based technology blog featuring news, reviews and opinions on anything tech related so whether you’re a self-confessed Apple fanboy or you prefer a phone with buttons, you can be sure to find something here.

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