LONDON (Thomson Financial) - The telecoms regulator on Thursday fined the Greek unit of UK mobile giant Vodafone 19.1 mln eur for violating network regulations in a wire-tapping scandal that rocked the country last year.

The fine is the second handed to Vodafone Hellas over the case after a 76 mln eur penalty levelled by Greece's communication privacy watchdog last December.

Some 100 Vodafone cellphones in February 2006 were found to have been compromised by an illicit network that tapped sets used by Greek Premier Costas Karamanlis, his wife and several ministers from June 2004 to March 2005.

The tapping used software slipped into Vodafone's network by unknown perpetrators to illegally activate an Ericsson-made module permitting call interception.

On Thursday, the national telecommunications regulator EETT accused Vodafone of breaching regulations on the protection of telecommunications privacy, network maintenance and quality, and consumer protection.

The company rejected last December's fine as 'illegal, unfair and baseless.'

A Greek parliament committee collecting evidence on the case last November noted the involvement of three employees of telecoms giants Ericsson Hellas and Vodafone Greece, identified only by their initials.

'The whole system could not operate without Ericsson know-how and without access from within (Vodafone),' the report said.

The Greek branch of Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson has also been fined 7.36 mln eur over the case.

The parliamentary committee did not rule out the involvement of other people operating outside Greece.

The Greek justice department has opened an investigation into the case but nobody has yet been charged.

Days before the affair came to light, a senior Vodafone expert was found hanged inside his home.

The death of Costas Tsalikidis, manager of Vodafone Greece's network planning section, was linked to the case and his family suspects he was murdered.

Are you sure it's ex-divi on the 19th, Skinny? Also 19th is a monday.
No site yet showing date or amount, that I can find.

Investor Calendar

Harry VOD's site has record date as 21st so I just extrapolated that ex was the 19th.

On edit the site has 21st and 23rd as record date, so I guess ex date is Wed 21st!

Thanks. Ex-divi is actually wed 21st Nov. as shown on that page.
Strange that neither MAM nor Digitallook have the info yet on their sites.

Harry - as posted above, VOD site has 21st & 23rd as record date - hence my confusion.

No problem skinny. I wasn't trying to catch you out, just that the info isn't readily available on other sites, which seems strange for such a major player.

Britain sets the date for 4G spectrum auction

(Reuters) - Communications regulator Ofcom said it expected mobile operators to be able to provide faster, fourth-generation services from June next year as it set out its long-awaited plans for a spectrum auction.

Ofcom said prospective bidders would be able to submit their applications with an initial deposit from December 11, with bidding beginning in January and licences granted in February and March.

Ofcom said the reserve prices for the spectrum would be a combined total of 1.3 billion pounds.

Half Yearly Report

· H1 Group organic service revenue growth -0.4%*; N. Europe +1.5%*, S. Europe -9.8%*, AMAP +5.2%*

· Q2 Group organic service revenue growth -1.4%*; N. Europe +0.7%*, S. Europe -11.3%*, AMAP +4.1%*

· H1 EBITDA down -2.9%* to £6.6 billion; EBITDA margin down 1.0* percentage point

· Adjusted operating profit £6.2 billion, up 8.5%*; expected to be in the upper half of the guidance range for the full year

· Impairments totalling £5.9 billion for Spain and Italy as a result of challenging market conditions and changes to discount rates

· Free cash flow £2.2 billion; expected to be in the lower half of the guidance range for the full year

· Interim dividend per share of 3.27 pence, up 7.2%

· £2.4 billion dividend due from Verizon Wireless by the end of 2012; £1.5 billion buyback to commence after receipt

A nice little divi from Verizon!

smart move by Tanker to buy another slab a day or two ago :-)

Verizon dividend looks as though it is going to be wasted on share buy-backs.

Oriel Securities Buy TP 235p Reiterates

Liberum Capital Buy Reiterates

Noble Buy TP 210p Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Buy TP 225p Retains

So what do you reckon, skinny? Buy, sell or hold?

Looking at the chart and apart from the divi, why would one buy these at the moment?

Maybe a longshot Stan (hope it is) no pun intended. Rallied for last four years in December, plus broker rec's above and divi must be worth a go don't you think?

Lord Gnome - I'll hold - the bulk of my holding is still in profit (just) and they form part of the yield element of my SIPP.

Questor share tip: Vodafone falls present buying opportunity

Vodafone shares limped to a 13-month low yesterday, as investors took fright at its exposure to Southern Europe. However, Questor reckons that things are as not bad as they seem.

Citigroup Buy TP 190.00 Retains

Goldman Sachs Buy TP 219.00 Reiterates

Noble Buy TP 200.00 Reiterates

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight TP 220.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Buy TP 225.00 Retains

Nomura Neutral TP 190.00 Retains

UBS Buy TP 200.00 Retains

Morgan Stanley Overweight TP 210.00 Retains

don't forget they have still to settle their billion $ tax dispute with the Indian government.

Thanks CC that's a good marker about the December rise over the last 5 years and Divi.

I've just read a little bit about that dispute H/F. Wonder if it is the reason for the "sharp" fall of late?

15 November 2012

VODAFONE INDIA SECURES SPECTRUM TO ENHANCE MOBILE SERVICES FOR CUSTOMERS

Vodafone India has been awarded spectrum licences in 14 telecom circles in the Indian government's 1800 MHz spectrum auction, enabling the company to provide customers with enhanced mobile services across the country, including in rural areas.

Vodafone India bid successfully for 2.5MHz of spectrum in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh West, Haryana, Orissa, North East, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and West Bengal and 1.25MHz in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh East, Maharashtra and Kerala. Vodafone's total bid in the auction was GBP138million (INR11.28bn(1) ).The spectrum secured is available for use immediately.

Vodafone's decision to participate in the 2G auction was to secure additional spectrum in circles where it has not received new 2G spectrum since 2008. Since then, Vodafone's customer base in India has grown from 60 million to over 150 million today. The additional spectrum and continued network investments will enable Vodafone India to build on its success in delivering superior mobile services to its customers throughout India.

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