Mobile operator strategies - 15/11/05

Telenor (Norway) continues its struggle against Alfa Group (Russia) on Vimpelcom' s strategy. It has decided to go into arbitration over alleged breaches by several Alfa group affiliates( Eco and CTF) of a shareholder agreement related to the nomination of candidates for election to Vimpelcom' s board.

Optus (Australia) launches 3G service in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth airports.

A new MVNO is starting operations in the US using Cingular network. The Voce service is a Japanese content service operated by mobile virtual network enabler Visage Mobile. It will be expanded to the top 10 cities in the US by the end of the year.

Vodafone will distribute mobile content from Universal Music Group to its Vodafone Live subscribers. The offerings will include master tones, ringback tones and full-track songs and videos.

Movistar (Telefonica Argentina) launched GSM Push-to-Talk for corporate users.

Azercell Telecom (Azerbaijan) has launched nationwide EDGE services.

Moldova's Moldcell has extended its EDGE coverage to just over 30% of the population.