Orange UK, the leading telco group owned by France Telecom, has just announced that they will bbe shedding 2,000 employees and restructuring as they merge their mobile phone unit and their ISP, called Wanadoo. Both will now be branded Orange.
This may seem to many of you to be the most uninteresting piece of business news so far this year (unless of course you work for Orange), but it points yet again to telco's driving convergence amongst their various units and packaging triple plays that consumers are eating up.
And in the UK they need to for they have one of the most advanced triple and quadruple play markets in the world thanks to early moves from BT and NTL/Virgin. And with BSkyB launching theirs in a couple of months it is little surprise that Orange need to restructure and launch their consumer packages aggressively.
You never know, "the future looks bright" and the future may even be Orange's - and clearly not Wanadoo's!
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Apple's new ads for the Mac - featured at TechBoard
OK, so check out Apple's new ads for their Intel Macs! Apple is finally pushing their Macs again after nearly a year when ther have had to relegate computer advertising in favour of their iPods while the Mac range was switching to Intel processors.
Well, the switch has clearly gone smoothly, so Apple are now back with a new national TV campaign for the US market. And clearly their strategy is to take advantage of Microsoft's delay in launching Vista as well as known performance and security issues in Windows.
Let's see if Apple can finally increase their market share from a perenially paultry 3% odd. It may be now or never!
Well, the switch has clearly gone smoothly, so Apple are now back with a new national TV campaign for the US market. And clearly their strategy is to take advantage of Microsoft's delay in launching Vista as well as known performance and security issues in Windows.
Let's see if Apple can finally increase their market share from a perenially paultry 3% odd. It may be now or never!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Qwest finally turning around?
Qwest, the US' 4th largest telco group has just announced an increase in revenues, which they have not managed to do for a very long time. And it loooks as though their focus on hi-speed Internet access is paying off - which is a good thing for fixed line customers keep diminishing as they defect to VOIP provisders such as Vonage and Comcast.
Qwests net income increased to $88m, or 5 cents a share, from $57m, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier on revenues which edged up to $3.48bn from $3.45bn. Now that Qwest is back on firmer footing they should look at an acquisition. How about buying Vonage?
Qwests net income increased to $88m, or 5 cents a share, from $57m, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier on revenues which edged up to $3.48bn from $3.45bn. Now that Qwest is back on firmer footing they should look at an acquisition. How about buying Vonage?
Verizon cuts VOIP costs to combat Vonage
Verizon has cut the cost of its VoiceWing broadband VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) service which includes unlimited local and long distance calling by $5 to $24.95 a month – the same price as rival Vonage Holdings, the VoIP pioneer that recently filed for an IPO.
Vonage, Skype and the cable companies success with Internet telephony take-up amongst their customers has clearly rattled Verizon and it is time for them to strike back before too many of their prospective customers defect.
And now is the time to get more aggressive - before Vonage go public - for Vonage have a large share of the US consumer VOIP market.
Vonage, Skype and the cable companies success with Internet telephony take-up amongst their customers has clearly rattled Verizon and it is time for them to strike back before too many of their prospective customers defect.
And now is the time to get more aggressive - before Vonage go public - for Vonage have a large share of the US consumer VOIP market.
Time Warner rejects EMI bid - should they?
Warner Music, the world's 4th largest music company, has rejected a $4.2 billion takeover approach from its larger rival EMI Group, the latest move in a long-running quest to combine the companies (EMI have bid for Warner Music 4 times in the recent past).
Given the article just written in sister channel businessuncut daily - it looks to us like it might be time for Time Warner to spin their music division off. But then again EMI will probably come back with a higher bid, so they may well do it.
Given the article just written in sister channel businessuncut daily - it looks to us like it might be time for Time Warner to spin their music division off. But then again EMI will probably come back with a higher bid, so they may well do it.
Wal-Mart to offer build-your-own-computers
Wal-Mart is about to dive into build-your-own-computers in a big way. And for price sensitive consumers this could prove a big hit for the US' largest retailer. And they have been testing the idea for over a year.
Wal-Mart currently offers only prepackaged bundles of personal computers and accessories in most of its stores. With the build-your-own-computer counters, shoppers can choose between several different components.
Such components include central processing units -- the brain of the computer that powers its basic functions -- as well as monitors, keyboards and mice that customers can combine to create customized packages they can load in a shopping cart and take home right away.
The retailer began testing build-your-own computer counters in about 20 locations last year, and is now introducing them in 1,200 of its 3,200 U.S. discount stores,Wal-Mart currently offers only prepackaged bundles of personal computers and accessories in most of its stores. With the build-your-own-computer counters, shoppers can choose between several different components.
Such components include central processing units as well as monitors, keyboards and mice that customers can combine to create customized packages they can load in a shopping cart and take home right away.
The retailer began testing build-your-own computer counters in about 20 locations last year, and is now introducing them in 1,200 of its 3,200 U.S. discount stores. They could prove a real threat to BestBuy and over time maybe even Dell and HP. But for consumers they could help continue to drive down the prices of lower end PC's and laptops.Microsoft to merge MSN with Yahoo? - and where would that leave Google?
The Wall Street Journal today produced a fascinating article on the likelihood of Microsoft teaming up/merging MSN with Yahoo. The combination could well make a lot of sense and could even assuage Microsoft's currently depressed shareholders (after all their share price has hardly moved these last few years).
Yahoo's portal, content approach, brand and user base would justify and leverage Microsoft's huge investments and bets on search technology and ad networks. And both Microsoft and Yahoo are losing their respective battles with Google, while Google just seems to get mightier.
Of course, should MSN and Yahoo get together in some way shape or form then it may put pressure on Google and AOL to do some kind of deal. AOL certainly seems to be struggling under the stewardship of Time Warner.
And while we're on the topic of merging Internet giants - how about combining Ebay with Amazon. Just think about it for a while - really, the idea may even grow on you.
Yahoo's portal, content approach, brand and user base would justify and leverage Microsoft's huge investments and bets on search technology and ad networks. And both Microsoft and Yahoo are losing their respective battles with Google, while Google just seems to get mightier.
Of course, should MSN and Yahoo get together in some way shape or form then it may put pressure on Google and AOL to do some kind of deal. AOL certainly seems to be struggling under the stewardship of Time Warner.
And while we're on the topic of merging Internet giants - how about combining Ebay with Amazon. Just think about it for a while - really, the idea may even grow on you.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Microsoft and SAP launch partnership
Microsoft and SAP have just announced a partnership whereby SAP corporate users will be able to access relevant event based data in Outlook and later in Microsoft Word and Excel. So a project manager could get notified of a task coming out of SAP into his Outlook calendar and a reminder automatically sent to his Outlook email.
Now this may all seem unbelievably boring but it is an important development and partnership for both parties. Microsoft and SAP looked at merging a couple of years ago (which just proves how vital the corporate sector is to Microsoft going forwards) and this is a way for the two players to strengthen their positions vis a vis IBM and Oracle.
Microsoft gets more integrated into SAP users lives and SAP gets more exposure to the huge number of Microsoft users both in the corporate sector as well as amongst SME's. Now Oracle needs to look at tying up with Google/Sun?! Mmm, now there's an idea!
Now this may all seem unbelievably boring but it is an important development and partnership for both parties. Microsoft and SAP looked at merging a couple of years ago (which just proves how vital the corporate sector is to Microsoft going forwards) and this is a way for the two players to strengthen their positions vis a vis IBM and Oracle.
Microsoft gets more integrated into SAP users lives and SAP gets more exposure to the huge number of Microsoft users both in the corporate sector as well as amongst SME's. Now Oracle needs to look at tying up with Google/Sun?! Mmm, now there's an idea!
MTN to buy Investcom and create Middle East and Africa mobile operator powerhouse
MTN will pay $5.53bn to buy Investcom in a deal destined to create the biggest mobile telecoms operator in Africa and the Middle East.
Investcom is the dominant player in Africa alongside Vodafone's Vodacom and MTN is the leader in the Middle East. The merged company's enterprise value will be just short of $25bn.
MTN is now one of the most interesting independent mobile operator assets in the world - and every mobile phone group with international apsirations is keen to develop new businesses in developing markets. What better than the Middle East and Africa where mobile phone penetration is less than 10%.
MTN could provide a fascinating acquisition for the likes of Telefonica or maybe even a SingTel.
Investcom is the dominant player in Africa alongside Vodafone's Vodacom and MTN is the leader in the Middle East. The merged company's enterprise value will be just short of $25bn.
MTN is now one of the most interesting independent mobile operator assets in the world - and every mobile phone group with international apsirations is keen to develop new businesses in developing markets. What better than the Middle East and Africa where mobile phone penetration is less than 10%.
MTN could provide a fascinating acquisition for the likes of Telefonica or maybe even a SingTel.
Amazon switches from Google to Microsoft for their search engine - what does it mean for the search space?
Google has just experienced the first major defection from their search technology to Micrsosoft's new search capabalities to be found at live.com. For Amazon has just switched their search technology at their search site A9 and at Amazon.com to Microsoft.
Amazon’s search engine, A9, breaks down searches into various categories, such as Web searches, book searches, and blog searches. It is a stand-alone search site, www.a9.com, as well as the search technology used on the Amazon Web site.
While A9 currently presents no real threat to Google or Yahoo from a market share perspective - Amazon's switch is a key milestone in Microsoft's search strategy and technology development. Microsoft's search technology should now be ready to be deployed by them widely across the Internet and in Vista as well as at other commercial sites.
And we all know what happens when Microsoft finally has competitive technology - they have a strange knack of slowly strangling the competition. Gooogle must fight back and attack Microsoft on their own turf, by hugging other partner sites such as Ebay hard, as well as dominating the "software as services" space.
Come on Google! Launch Google Office that takes Microsoft Office head on but offers the software free and over the Internet. The only way Google can avoid going the way of Netscape or Real Networks is to ensure Microsoft do not box them in and then drown them - they have to go after Microsoft's turf as well as defending their own!
Amazon’s search engine, A9, breaks down searches into various categories, such as Web searches, book searches, and blog searches. It is a stand-alone search site, www.a9.com, as well as the search technology used on the Amazon Web site.
While A9 currently presents no real threat to Google or Yahoo from a market share perspective - Amazon's switch is a key milestone in Microsoft's search strategy and technology development. Microsoft's search technology should now be ready to be deployed by them widely across the Internet and in Vista as well as at other commercial sites.
And we all know what happens when Microsoft finally has competitive technology - they have a strange knack of slowly strangling the competition. Gooogle must fight back and attack Microsoft on their own turf, by hugging other partner sites such as Ebay hard, as well as dominating the "software as services" space.
Come on Google! Launch Google Office that takes Microsoft Office head on but offers the software free and over the Internet. The only way Google can avoid going the way of Netscape or Real Networks is to ensure Microsoft do not box them in and then drown them - they have to go after Microsoft's turf as well as defending their own!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Apple persuades music labels to keep price of iTunes songs at 99c
Steve Jobs has just pulled off another major coup by persuading the worlds four leading music labels to keep the price of songs sold at the iTunes music store to 99c. This is a key milestone for Apple, consumers and the online music industry as a whole.
99c is a price at which consumers are clearly happy to keep buying digital tunes at a record pace - and that should be boosted, not curtailed through onerous new pricing mechanisms - to ensure that the inevitable hockey stick in legal online music sales continues.
The music labels wanted to introduce variable pricing and charge consumers more for the latest tunes, which could have stifled legal digital music sales. Ultimately though they made the right decision (which has not always been the case when it comes to online music) and iTunes users can breath a sigh of relief.
For now Apple holds the power in the digital music space and fortunately they felt confident enough to use it.
99c is a price at which consumers are clearly happy to keep buying digital tunes at a record pace - and that should be boosted, not curtailed through onerous new pricing mechanisms - to ensure that the inevitable hockey stick in legal online music sales continues.
The music labels wanted to introduce variable pricing and charge consumers more for the latest tunes, which could have stifled legal digital music sales. Ultimately though they made the right decision (which has not always been the case when it comes to online music) and iTunes users can breath a sigh of relief.
For now Apple holds the power in the digital music space and fortunately they felt confident enough to use it.
Blackberry maker RIM gets sued again!
Poor old RIM. They have just emerged from a long and painful patent dispute with NTP which cost them a whopping $612M to settle and now they are being sued again - this time by US rival Visto.
Visto are currently feeling somewhat pleased with themselves as they have just successfully sued another rival Seven Networks and on Friday a Texas jury found that Seven had willfully infringed on three separate Visto wireless e-mail patents and awarded Visto about $3.6m in damages. Nice if you can get it. Seven will appeal etc etc.
But, this has given them the hutspa to go after leader of the mobile email space RIM. So now we can all look forward to another mind bogglingly dull and painful patent battle in the coporate mobile email space.
It makes you wonder whether the whole system for patent infringement cases should be reviewed, as innovators of new technologies seem to make/lose more money and time from sitting in court than serving their customers.
Visto are currently feeling somewhat pleased with themselves as they have just successfully sued another rival Seven Networks and on Friday a Texas jury found that Seven had willfully infringed on three separate Visto wireless e-mail patents and awarded Visto about $3.6m in damages. Nice if you can get it. Seven will appeal etc etc.
But, this has given them the hutspa to go after leader of the mobile email space RIM. So now we can all look forward to another mind bogglingly dull and painful patent battle in the coporate mobile email space.
It makes you wonder whether the whole system for patent infringement cases should be reviewed, as innovators of new technologies seem to make/lose more money and time from sitting in court than serving their customers.
Yahoo launches Yahoo Tech! to help the world's consumer tech morons choose and use their gadgets!
Yahoo has just launched their first new content site in 5 years called Yahoo Tech, which, surprise surprise is designed to assist any tech moron on the planet (i.e. most of us!) to choose and use the huge number of necessary consumer gadgest available on the market today - from PC's to TV's to networks and cell phones.
It is a pretty user friendly site and one that focuses heavily on user top rated (at least top 5) gadgets. So, if it's a PC you're after then apparently the one's adored by Yahoo (?) users are Apple's and Sony Vaio's (poor old Dell). If it's laptops your after then it's Apple and Sony Vaio's also (?!) (yep, Dell and HP just can't catch a Yahoo Tech break).
If it's MP3 music players your after then the hottest is a Samsung - not an iPod!!!!! And on the cellphone side it's Motorola's and Sony Ericsson's all the way.
But on a more serious note (sorry to do this) Yahoo looks to be onto something with this new content site - and they are filling a useful gap. The world's average consumer needs a trusted site to tell them which are the leading devices to focus on when buying gadgets. Utlimately it will all come down to trust - i.e. are their reviews and favorites really the 'best'.
And the fact that this is not just another tech news site is massively relieving - there are far too many around today! Yahoo carries no tech news (at least not at Yahoo Tech) and the content all comes from leading gadget publications. The only original content comes from Yahoo users and their blogs.
Expact Yahoo to launch similar format consumer content sites in other subjest categories. See if you can guess which ones? Ha ha, we can whack up user generated content of our own Yahoo!! Check it out.
It is a pretty user friendly site and one that focuses heavily on user top rated (at least top 5) gadgets. So, if it's a PC you're after then apparently the one's adored by Yahoo (?) users are Apple's and Sony Vaio's (poor old Dell). If it's laptops your after then it's Apple and Sony Vaio's also (?!) (yep, Dell and HP just can't catch a Yahoo Tech break).
If it's MP3 music players your after then the hottest is a Samsung - not an iPod!!!!! And on the cellphone side it's Motorola's and Sony Ericsson's all the way.
But on a more serious note (sorry to do this) Yahoo looks to be onto something with this new content site - and they are filling a useful gap. The world's average consumer needs a trusted site to tell them which are the leading devices to focus on when buying gadgets. Utlimately it will all come down to trust - i.e. are their reviews and favorites really the 'best'.
And the fact that this is not just another tech news site is massively relieving - there are far too many around today! Yahoo carries no tech news (at least not at Yahoo Tech) and the content all comes from leading gadget publications. The only original content comes from Yahoo users and their blogs.
Expact Yahoo to launch similar format consumer content sites in other subjest categories. See if you can guess which ones? Ha ha, we can whack up user generated content of our own Yahoo!! Check it out.
Comverse dump their management team over options scandal
Comverse, the leading telecom software and systems company, has decided to ditch their founder, Chairman and CEO, Kobi Alexander, as well as their CFO and General Council over the alleged abuse of stock option grants.
It looks like the guys leading Comverse may have got a bit cute over granting otions (mainly to themselves) which were backdated or granted ahead of favorable news to give recipients a better chance of profiting from exercising the options. Oops!
And (as if this were not bad enough) as a result of the fiasco Comverse is struggling to file their accounts for last year and may get delisted from Nasdaq! No wonder the guys resigned. What a mess!
And a mess that unwhitting independent (?) board members will have to clean up as they step into the running of the company on an interim basis. Let's hope they can sort things out, at the very least for the employees, customers and shareholders.
It looks like the guys leading Comverse may have got a bit cute over granting otions (mainly to themselves) which were backdated or granted ahead of favorable news to give recipients a better chance of profiting from exercising the options. Oops!
And (as if this were not bad enough) as a result of the fiasco Comverse is struggling to file their accounts for last year and may get delisted from Nasdaq! No wonder the guys resigned. What a mess!
And a mess that unwhitting independent (?) board members will have to clean up as they step into the running of the company on an interim basis. Let's hope they can sort things out, at the very least for the employees, customers and shareholders.
Level 3 snaps up another network infrastructure company
Level 3 Coomunications announced today the purchase of closely held TelCove Inc. for about $1 billion and demonstrated another step in their roll-up of the telecomms network industry.
In purchasing TelCove, of Canonsburg, Pa., Level 3 will gain access to new infrastructure on the East Coast, including 22,000 miles of data-transmission lines serving 70 markets. Combined, the new Level 3, will provide ever more competition to network infrastructure leaders AT&T and Verizon.
And how things have changed. Only a few years ago there was a glut of telecom capacity the size of a butter mountain. Now, thanks to broadband and data hungry video transmission - the demand for network capacity is soaring again.
And video over digital networks has only just begun it's hockey stick growth - so given that a rising tide lifts all ships, Level 3 looks back on the up even though profits seem to keep alluding them. But, that shouldn't last much longer.
In purchasing TelCove, of Canonsburg, Pa., Level 3 will gain access to new infrastructure on the East Coast, including 22,000 miles of data-transmission lines serving 70 markets. Combined, the new Level 3, will provide ever more competition to network infrastructure leaders AT&T and Verizon.
And how things have changed. Only a few years ago there was a glut of telecom capacity the size of a butter mountain. Now, thanks to broadband and data hungry video transmission - the demand for network capacity is soaring again.
And video over digital networks has only just begun it's hockey stick growth - so given that a rising tide lifts all ships, Level 3 looks back on the up even though profits seem to keep alluding them. But, that shouldn't last much longer.
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