Global operator strategies - 15/02/07

Vodafone will pay $11bn in cash for the 67% stake of Hutchison Telecom in Hutchison Essar, and plans to acquire the remaining 33% stake from the Essar group.

France Telecom is believed selling its Dutch mobile operations to fund expansion in emerging markets.

Telefonica is seeking stake in Telecom Italia. It would be in talks with Pirelli for a minority stake in TI.

Maroc Telecom bought 51% of Gabon Telecom for €61m.

Mozilla Foundation (Firefox) and Kodak have signed a deal to integrate Kodak' s picture sharing solution into Firefox browser.

Vodafone-Orange radio network sharing gives ideas: T-Mobile also says it may enter into network-sharing deals with rivals in some countries.

Google and Vodafone have agreed to develop maps for mobile telephones.

Orange and France Televisions have chosen Kevego for their respective social networking video platforms.

The European Commission said that it may allow mobile network operators to use their current 2G networks to offer 3G services. It also asked telecom regulators from all nations in the European Union (EU), to come up with a proposal to increase competition in telecom markets. The Commissioner Viviane Reding highlighted that one solution could be to have a super telecom regulator with the power to make rules for the entire EU.

China Mobile expects 3G licensing in October, when it finishes build outs of its TD-SCDMA networks, worth some $1.9bn, and when handsets will be available.

Time Warner Cable is now on the list of service providers offering quad-play services. It added cellular phone service to its product portfolio.