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.

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

VOD must be responsible for @9 points of the FTSE rise this am.

Ofcom opens 4G refarming consultation for O2, Vodafone and Three

Mobile operators O2, Vodafone and Three could be able to offer 4G services on their existing 3G spectrum holdings after Ofcom opened a consultation on the issue.

The regulator revealed the firms had asked to be able to use their existing holdings for 4G services, no doubt spurred by the same request granted to its rival EE, which has been offering higher-speed services since November 2012.

In the consultation, which will close on 29 March, Ofcom is seeking responses to the demands made by the firms, which also include requests from O2 and Vodafone to be able to increase their power base station transmit power by three decibels (3dB) for 3G use.

"We propose in this consultation to liberalise all mobile licences in the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands to permit the deployment of 4G services," it said.

Vodafone representative meets FinMin officials

New Delhi: Vodafone India non-executive Chairman Analjit Singh on Monday met Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose in an attempt to resolve the Rs 11,200 crore tax liability issue related to the British firm's acquisition of Indian telecom assets of Hutchison Whampoa.

"We met the Revenue Secretary today," Singh told reporters but did not provide any detail when asked if a resolution was in sight.

Interim Management Statement

7 February 2013

· Group service revenue declined -2.6%*; or -0.4%* excluding mobile termination rate ('MTR') cuts

· Decline in Northern and Central Europe service revenue: Germany -0.2%*, UK -5.2%*

· Conditions in Southern Europe remain challenging: Italy -13.8%*, Spain -11.3%*

· Continued growth in emerging markets1: India +9.0%*, Vodacom +1.9%*, Turkey +18.4%*

· Verizon Wireless ('VZW') service revenue grew +8.7%* driven by strong customer additions

· Group data revenue grew +12.8%*reflecting an increase in European smartphone penetration to 33.4%

· LTE services launched in Italy, South Africa, Greece and Romania; LTE now available in six markets

· Net debt reduced to £23.3 billion after receipt of £2.4 billion VZW dividend

· Vodafone Red launched in five markets; 48.3% of European mobile service revenue now in-bundle

· Full year guidance for adjusted operating profit and free cash flow confirmed

Oriel Securities Buy 174.03 170.35 225.00 225.00 Reiterates

Espirito Santo Execution Noble Buy 174.03 170.35 200.00 200.00 Reiterates

Liberum Capital Buy 174.03 170.35 205.00 205.00 Reiterates

Looking for a move @178p

Vodafone adds to Spain corporate job cull with 620 dismissals

(Reuters) - Mobile phone operator Vodafone (VOD.L) said it had reached agreement with labour unions to lay off 620 workers at its recession-hit Spanish unit, adding to a list of job cuts in Spain's hard-hit economy.

Many companies in Spain, where the unemployment rate already stands at 26 percent, are laying off staff to cut costs. The ruling centre-right government, in the midst an austerity drive to slash its deficit, has introduced measures to make hiring and firing easier.

Ofcom announces winners of the 4G mobile auction

· Five winning bidders to deliver future mobile competition in the UK
· 4G services from a range of operators expected within six months
· Research measuring 4G speeds to be conducted at the end of 2013

Ofcom has today announced the winners of the 4G mobile spectrum auction.

After more than 50 rounds of bidding, Everything Everywhere Ltd, Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, Niche Spectrum Ventures Ltd (a subsidiary of BT Group plc), Telefónica UK Ltd and Vodafone Ltd have all won spectrum. This is suitable for rolling out new superfast mobile broadband services to consumers and to small and large businesses across the UK1.

The auction has achieved Ofcom's purpose of promoting strong competition in the 4G mobile market. This is expected to lead to faster mobile broadband speeds, lower prices, greater innovation, new investment and better coverage. Almost the whole UK population will be able to receive 4G mobile services by the end of 2017 at the latest.

A total of 250 MHz of spectrum was auctioned in two separate bands - 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz. This is equivalent to two-thirds of the radio frequencies currently used by wireless devices such as tablets, smartphones and laptops.

The lower-frequency 800 MHz band is part of the 'digital dividend' freed up when analogue terrestrial TV was switched off, and is ideal for widespread mobile coverage. The higher-frequency 2.6 GHz band is ideal for delivering the capacity needed for faster speeds. The availability of the two will allow 4G networks to achieve widespread coverage as well as offering capacity to cope with significant demand in urban centres.

Ed Richards, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: "This is a positive outcome for competition in the UK, which will lead to faster and more widespread mobile broadband, and substantial benefits for consumers and businesses across the country. We are confident that the UK will be among the most competitive markets in the world for 4G services.

"4G coverage will extend far beyond that of existing 3G services, covering 98% of the UK population indoors - and even more when outdoors - which is good news for parts of the country currently underserved by mobile broadband.

"We also want consumers to be well informed about 4G, so we will be conducting research at the end of this year to show who is deploying services, in which areas and at what speeds. This will help consumers and businesses to choose their most suitable provider."


Widespread 4G coverage
Ofcom has attached a coverage obligation to one of the 800 MHz lots of spectrum. The winner of this lot is Telefónica UK Ltd. This operator is obliged to provide a mobile broadband service for indoor reception to at least 98% of the UK population (expected to cover at least 99% when outdoors) and at least 95% of the population of each of the UK nations - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales - by the end of 2017 at the latest.


Results
A breakdown of what was won, who won it and the base prices payable is detailed below:

VODAFONE UK SECURES SPECTRUM

Vodafone UK confirms, following the announcement by UK communications regulator Ofcom, that in the principal round of the spectrum auction it has acquired spectrum of 2 x 10MHz in the 800MHz band and 2 x 20MHz in the 2.6GHz band plus an additional 25 MHz of unpaired spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band. The spectrum licences are all indefinite in length and have an initial term of 20 years. The total amount payable is £790m.

The spectrum award will support Vodafone UK's plans to develop the next generation of mobile internet services, known as 4G, using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

Vodafone UK chief executive Guy Laurence said: "We've secured the low frequency mobile phone spectrum that will support the launch of our ultra-fast 4G service later this year. It will enable us to deliver services where people really want it, especially indoors. This is great news for our customers. The next generation of mobile internet services will bring real benefits to both consumers and businesses."

Publication of Prospectus

The following supplementary prospectus has been approved by the UK Listing Authority and is available for viewing:

Supplementary prospectus dated 22 February 2013 (the "Supplementary Prospectus") prepared in connection with the €30,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme of Vodafone Group Plc (the "Issuer").

To view the Supplementary Prospectus and the documents that are incorporated into it by reference, please paste the following URL into the address bar of your browser.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5010Y_-2013-2-22.pdf

Vodafone Group PLC Espirito Santo Execution Noble Buy 169.18 200.00 200.00 Reiterates

Vodafone Group PLC Oriel Securities Buy 169.18 225.00 225.00 Reiterates

Vodafone Group PLC Deutsche Bank Hold 169.18 173.00 173.00 Reiterates

Verizon, Vodafone mull Verizon Wireless options - report

Tue Mar 5, 2013 9:23pm GMT

(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) has weighed several options involving its relationship with Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) and its joint ownership of Verizon Wireless ranging from ending its wireless venture with the European company to a full merger with Vodafone, Bloomberg reported.

The U.S. and UK mobile-phone operators discussed a full combination as recently as December, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the situation.

The talks stalled over issues of leadership and location of a new company, making a buyout or partial sale of Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless more likely, the sources said.

Wondered what the excitement was.