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.

Flippin 'eck. Still dropping. Didn't buy in, but that was by sheer luck (circumstance) rather than judgement. You day traders must surely be looking for a bounce soon, though ex-divi on wed, so presumably not before that?

H/C, Wonder if as H/F says in post 362 it's that Tax Dispute that is depressing the SP? When do you return to the UK?

Am in Chennai at mo, then on to Bangalore. Another couple of weeks and back to Blighty! Doesn't look as though I have missed much (apart from the F1). England cricket team over here doing badly. :o(
Reading the local papers over here, it looks a though the retrospective tax demand has been deferred under appeal, so some good news for VOD. Still surprised there wasn't a small surge pre-divi, which doesn't bode well, imo.

Yes I tend to agree with your last comment, so I am staying clear for the moment. Sounds like your having a good time out there and getting around the Country. Not been to the far east as I'm not really a very hot weather person but always fascinated by the way people live in other Countries, Anthropology I think it's called. Stay safe anyway.

Thanks for that Stan. I just love the hot weather, though litter and air pollution are dire here and really spoil an otherwise beautiful country.

4G tests reveal patchy urban coverage

The first large-scale test of EE's new 4G network has indicated less than half of Manchester city centre is able to take advantage of its high speeds.

Data collected by mobile coverage firm RootMetrics and shared exclusively with the BBC reveals just 40.2% of its test locations had access to the 4G network.

It was the same with 2g and 3g I recall. In fact 3g is still poor in many many locations. Time will bring improvement meanwhile this ought to be good for the likes of VOD as EE's first mover advantage will be curtailed?

Seven companies enter 4G airwaves race - Ofcom

LONDON | Thu Dec 20, 2012 8:37am GMT
(Reuters) - Telecoms regulator Ofcom said on Thursday that seven companies had qualified to bid for the new airwaves needed to roll out superfast 4G mobile broadband across Britain.

Fixed lines provider BT, managed networks firm MLL Telecom and Hong Kong's PCCW Limited would enter the auction, Ofcom said, as well as all of the existing mobile network operators - EE, Vodafone, O2 owner Telefonica and Hutchison, which is behind Three.

Bidders will be competing for spectrum in two separate bands - 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz, it said. The lower frequency 800 MHz band was freed up when analogue terrestrial TV was switched off.

EE, a joint venture between France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, has already launched 4G services in major British cities by reallocating its existing airwaves.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle)

Are you into these skinny? I've been watching these drop for as long as I've been watching my BT.A rise. One day it will be worth swapping over, but not just yet perhaps.

I am atm for my sins - whilst I've held my core holding of BT from the high 90p's, I tend to trade these - if somewhat infrequently.

Lots of 'noise' about atm and the buy back seems to be getting mixed reviews. I am out of the money but not too badly, so I'll cogitate over the hoilday.

I got out today skinny @ 156.0 - 11.7 probably rocket now, murphys law.

Link copied :- HAMMER RAISED FOR 4G AUCTION

THE largest-ever sale of mobile airwaves in the UK kicks off this month when the auction for 4G mobile spectrum begins.

The Government hopes the sale will net £3.5 billion for the Treasury, helping the Chancellor George Osborne to meet his deficit reduction targets. However, analysts say the spectrum will fetch anywhere between £2 billion and £4 billion, the former potentially giving Osborne a severe headache.

Investor calendar


06 February 2013 Interim dividend payment date

07 February 2013 Interim Management Statement for the quarter ended 31 December 2012

Verizon Says Buying Out Wireless Venture ‘Feasible’

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ +0.88% Chief Executive Lowell McAdam believes the company could pull off the acquisition of its wireless joint venture with Vodafone Group PLC. VOD.LN +2.07%

In an interview Monday ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Mr. McAdam said Verizon has long been interested in such a deal and he thinks his company has the strength to pull it off. He noted that the venture is functioning well and consolidation of the ownership isn’t necessary.

“We have always said we would love to own all of that asset,” he said. Verizon Wireless is 55% owned by Verizon and 45% by Vodafone.

India Said to Tell Vodafone It’s Ready for Tax Settlement Talks

By Siddhartha Singh - Jan 11, 2013 8:35 AM GMT

India has written to Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) saying it’s ready for talks to settle a $2.2 billion tax dispute, a Finance Ministry official with direct knowledge of the matter said, bringing the resolution of the clash closer.

The government replied yesterday to a letter from the company that seeks an amicable settlement, the official said, asking not to be named as the information isn’t public. The administration may seek to waive interest and penalties on levies, such as in Vodafone’s case, arising from changes to tax laws applied retroactively, another official said, asking not to be identified as he isn’t authorized to speak to the media.

And a slightly more recent link


‘FinMin willing to discuss tax case Vodafone’

Press Trust of India : New Delhi, Sat Jan 12 2013, 00:52 hrs

The revenue department today sent a reply to the Vodafone’s representation on Rs 11,200 crore tax issue and also expressed its willingness to discuss the matter with company officials. “Finance ministry has replied to Vodafone on tax case. The revenue department has written that both the secretary and the CBDT chairman are keen to talk to settle the issue,” a senior finance ministry official said.

Deutsche Bank has lowered its recommendation for Vodafone from 'buy' to 'hold', citing concerns about "deterioration" at the telecoms firm.

The broker said that there's "little to cheer" about at Vodafone: "We forecast growth deterioration through calendar 2013 with the outlook for financial FY14 set to confirm declining free cash flow (FCF), no further dividend-per-share (DPS) growth and a scaled down buyback to avoid increased leverage."

Verizon eyes mobile margin jump as fourth-quarter disappoints

Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:04pm GMT

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc posted a weaker-than-expected wireless operating profit margin due to hefty costs from smartphones like Apple's iPhone, but the U.S. telephone company promised a big improvement this year as it cuts costs.

While Verizon's fourth quarter bottom line was weaker than anticipated, investors were encouraged when Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said on Tuesday that the company could be in a position to buy back shares sooner than expected and that wireless margins could rise this year to as high as 50 percent.

Well I've held for years and happy to do so ,,,,,,,a bell weather stock and pretty good income,,,,,,,,,all IMO

EE finds 4G a hard sell

Just three months after the launch of the UK's first 4G network, the "Sale" signs are going up at EE. The company has unveiled what it describes as "new price plan offers" to offer customers more choice. But what EE is actually doing is cutting prices in what looks like an admission that it got its initial offer wrong.

Espirito Santo Execution Buy 162.90p 200.00p 200.00p Reiteration

Citigroup Buy 162.90p 180.00p 180.00p Reiteration

JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 162.90p 220.00p 220.00p Reiteration

Deutsche Hold 162.90p 175.00p 175.00p Reiteration