René Obermann, DT’s chief executive, said the UK business had to do better, and he is to appoint new management. “We feel the UK market is competitive, and consolidation would do good for that market,” he said.

Mr Obermann emphasised he was not commenting about possible deal-making, but his statement was seized upon by analysts as evidence DT might sell its UK business.

DT’s leading shareholders – the German government and Blackstone, the private equity group – are beginning to lose patience with the underperforming UK business. DT is expected to take a €1.8bn writedown on the UK asset next week.

The most logical buyer would be one of its British rivals, because consolidation ought to enhance the profitability of the remaining companies.

The UK is the only important European market to have five network operators – Telefónica’s O2, Vodafone, France Telecom’s Orange, T-Mobile and 3 – and they periodically engage in price wars.

Possible buyer for T-Mobile UK business could be France Telekom, which already owns Orange UK mobile operator. An Orange-T-Mobile tie-up would command a 40 per cent share of revenue paid by British mobile users. That figure includes Virgin Mobile’s customers, because the company uses T-Mobile UK’s network to offer phone services.

	Recently launched INQ1 handset exclusive on 3, this handset will keep you in touch with your friends. INQ1 has Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Skype and much more under it’s roof. Moreover, you can listen to music, take photos and make free calls using Skype.INQ1 is available for free from £15 a month on 18 months plan.	Visit website and Buy
	C905 is 8 Megapixel Cyber-shot camera from Sony Ericsson, loaded with professional photography features is yours for £33 a month on 18 months contract. For this price, you get 500 minutes or texts or any mix of the two – anytime, any network. Also you get unlimited mins on 3 to 3 calls every month and free Voicemail every month. Also you get Digital Photo Frame free when you sign up, so you can display all your pictures taken with no hassle!	Visit website and Buy
	LG KC910 is also 8 megapixel camera phone but this onehas touch screen as well. Phone comes with 8GB external memory and also has accelerometer, which allows you to play games by tilting the phone. Sound has powerful bass with the Dolby integrated audio support.Get this phone on £33 a month contract. Visit website for details.	Visit website and Buy
	This inexpensive Sony Ericsson K530i is only £59.99 on pay as you go and also includes £10 of airtime preloaded! This is good 3G phone with a classic design, user-friendly keypad and a good range of features, including a 2 megapixel camera, a music player, an FM radio, and a memory card slot.	Visit website and Buy

You can also get Skypephone, wireless routers, broadband USB dongles, bundles and many more. Visit 3 website for latest deals.

3 will offer the Nokia N95 8GB on an 18-month contract for £35 a month. Customers will get a mix of up to 300 minutes or texts, plus 1GB of internet access and unlimited music downloads for the duration of the contract.

Carphone Warehouse launched another Nokia handset with this service earlier this month. See blog entry about that here.

Via Mobile Entertainment

3 is the first UK mobile operator, and one of the first operators in the world, to offer such a diverse range of freeware, demo, and ad-supported applications to consumers. In doing so, 3 aims to broaden its service offering for consumers and encourage uptake of mobile applications. Its partnership with GetJar gives 3 access to the world’s largest and most successful mobile applications portfolio – GetJar recently surpassed 300 million downloads worldwide.

GetJar provides an open and free environment for application developers and consumers, with over 10,000 free applications available for anyone with a Java, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm, BlackBerry, or Flash Lite-compatible phone, and will soon launch a catalog of Android applications in 2008. GetJar’s ‘Mobile Applications Ecosystem’ connects consumers to developers through free access to applications, and connects developers to global wireless markets quickly, easily, and free of charge.

GetJar hosts the world’s most robust download system, ensuring application compatibility with hundreds of handsets.
“3 is known for innovative services, and providing 3 customers with access to the best and most popular free applications is an important step for the mobile industry,” said Ilja Laurs, founder and CEO of GetJar. “GetJar’s huge library of mobile applications will play a crucial role in satisfying customer demand and driving revenue for 3.”

Mei Lin Ng, co-founder and vice president of marketing at leading mobile application developer, mig33 commented, “It’s great to see market leaders partnering together, and helping to pave the way for a more open, mobile Internet. For many users already, GetJar is the number one place they visit to find the latest and best mobile applications and services.”

Via MarketWatch

Nokia Siemens Networks has been selected as the 3G radio network infrastructure supplier for the consolidation of the two operators’ 3G radio access network infrastructure under MBNL, in the process creating the UK’s most extensive 3G network providing near complete population coverage by the end of 2009.

The contract has been awarded by MBNL, the 50:50 joint venture formed at the beginning of 2008 between 3 and T-Mobile UK to supervise the creation and operation of the joint network on behalf of both companies. The network consolidation agreement will significantly increase both operators’ 3G network quality and coverage, accelerate the provision of new high-speed mobile broadband services and deliver substantial cost savings as well as environmental benefits.

The first integrated cell site was commissioned in early February. Since then MBNL has concluded a pilot in the Leeds and Bradford area which successfully validated that the network consolidation technology will deliver the desired benefits focused on achieving nationwide 3G coverage.Although masts and the 3G access networks are being combined, each company’s core network and T-Mobile’s 2G network will not be shared. Both parties will retain responsibility for the delivery of services to their respective customers and use their own frequency spectrum. Nokia Siemens Networks’ industry-leading radio access solution will replace most of the two operators’ communications stations across the UK and equipment at the remaining sites is being upgraded and reconfigured for higher quality and capacity. The solution, featuring energy-efficient Flexi base stations from Nokia Siemens Networks, will allow a reduction the number of sites in the network by about 30 percent.

As well as network infrastructure, Nokia Siemens Networks will deliver project management, network deployment and managed spare parts capability, as well as care services to maintain network performance and increase its efficiency.

“This contract is an endorsement of our successful partnership with the two companies and we are committed to supporting them in their growth objectives as well as simplifying the network and reducing their operating costs. Our role in creating the UK’s largest 3G network underscores Nokia Siemens Networks’ leadership in managing advanced and complex network integration projects for the benefit of our customers,” said Spencer Rigler of Nokia Siemens Networks.

Synergies in network operations will be achieved thanks to the leading-edge Multi-operator Radio Access Network (MORAN) solution from Nokia Siemens Networks, allowing their networks to function independently. There are several benefits of this unique technology including full flexibility while merging the two networks, the re-use of existing infrastructure and the reduction of the number of sites.

In addition to cost savings and improved network quality, the integration will also deliver environmental benefits as the Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi base station helps achieve power savings at site of up to 70% compared with traditional 3G equipment.

Nokia Siemens Networks is the market leader in network consolidation solutions and this contract further strengthens this position. Over the past several years the company has gained substantial experience in building and operating shared networks. Today, the only shared networks in commercial operation are implemented with Nokia Siemens Networks technology that offers the complete range of network sharing methods for 2G and 3G – from simple site sharing to a fully managed network.

Read full press release here.

3UK’s website does not state anything about this handset, Tech Digest reports that handset will be available with 30£ per month contract.

I hope other carriers will sell this handset too, so that we can have a choice and competition, unlike iPhone, which is only available on O2.

Let’s wait and see what will happen!

You can pre-order on Play.com now.

This is an extract from 3′s press release:

“3′s Director of Products Fergal Walker said: “Motorola’s renewed focus on powerful 3G handsets like the RAZR2 V9 means we can welcome them back into 3′s growing portfolio. A strong roadmap and some compelling products will help us give our customers the best possible choice of 3G phones.”

17 MOTOAGENTS will tour the entire 3Store base throughout March and April to help reintroduce the Motorola brand to 3 staff and customers.

“Motorola is delighted to be working with 3 on the launch of the Motorola RAZR2 V9 across the UK,” said Jim Michel, General Manager, UK & Ireland, Motorola. “The rich capabilities of the RAZR2 V9 are a perfect match for the advanced services and experiences available through the 3 mobile network. Together, we have great expectations for how the product will perform in retail and are looking forward to building a portfolio of Motorola products available on 3 in the future,” he added.”

The RAZR2 V9 is available from 3Stores and Three.co.uk from 13 March 2008.

Short Specs:

2.0 Megapixel Camera with 8x zoom and photo light P2P Video calling camera Video capture and Playback MPEG4 Talktime: 180 mins Standby: 295 hrs45MB internal Memory 4GB expandable memory using MicroSD cardDimensions: 103 x 53 x 12.9 Weight: 120g

3 is giving away 1 Nintendo Wii every hour starting tomorrow at 10:00AM!

Customers who buy mobile contract or mobile broadband contract from 3Store are eligible for this prize draw.

Check 3 offers here.

T-Mobile have similar competition which is already running from 1st February 2008. T-Mobile gives away 3 prizes, worth £3000 each in Capital Bond vouchers. These vouchers can be used at Virgin Holidays. So you can win that dream holiday you wished for!

If you buy any contract plan including U-Fix with either LG, Sony Ericsson or Samsung phone, you will be automatically entered into prize draw. Winners will be announced on 29th February 2008 and T-Mobile will contact winners on that day, if they will not be able to contact winner in 2 days, T-Mobile will re-draw and choose another winner.

Competition ends 14th February, cancelled contracts will not be eligible.

Check T-Mobile offers here.

Vodafone

Vodafone offers range of devices for mobile broadband: USB Modem, USB Modem 7.2, USB Modem Stick and ExpressCard. See table below for quick overview.

Device	Device Cost(12months/18months)	Cost Per Month	Speed	Comments
USB Modem	£99	£30	up to 3.6Mbps	No long term commitments, you can cancel anytime with 30 day notice. Plug and play on desktops or laptops and Macs.
USB 7.2	£57.58/FREE	£30	up to 7.2Mbps	Speeds of up to 7.2Mbps. Plug and play on desktops or laptops and Macs.
USB Stick	£116.33/£57.58	£30	up to 7.2Mbps	Small, slim and fast, only on Vodafone
ExpressCard	£57.58/FREE	£30	up to 7.2Mbps	Advanced receiver, ideal for laptops, adaptor for PC card slots supplied

USB Modem 7.2, USB Modem Stick and ExpressCard can also be purchased on Mobile Broadband 24, any of the listed devices will cost £199.75 and 24 hour access will cost you £9.99. This is ideal for occasional users who do not go online everyday.

Also you can purchase Mobile Broadband Travel price plan, which will cost you £111.63 per month but gives you 200MB per month included on any network abroad and £4.99 per MB after that. This is ideal for people who travel abroad regularly and have to be connected all the time.

All broadband tariffs are subject to fair usage policy, 3GB download limit applies to monthly plan, 500MB limit to 24 hour access. If you do not use your monthly or daily allowance, it is not rolled over to next month/day. So you either use it or loose it.

Vodafone’s terms and conditions say that if your usage is continually excessive, Vodafone will warn you and charge you, may limit the speed of your service or ultimately terminate contract.

3

3 offers only USB modem with it’s broadband packages but have bigger range of price plans. See table below for available options.

All of the above packages are available as Pay As You Go options with same allowances and cost but you will have to pay £99.99 for USB modem (available in various colours), you will have 1 month to finish allowance and every 1MB over allowance will be charged at £1.00.

Available colors:

T-Mobile

T-Mobile gives you a choice between USB Modem or Data Card. See table below for price plan options for USB modem:

Data card options:

T-Mobile also gives you access to Wi-Fi hotspots for free if you are new customer. This can be handy if you like to surf web while sipping coffee in Starbucks or travel often and need access at airport.
Prepay option also available, you will have to buy USB Modem for £99.99 and 24 hour access will cost you £4. It makes sense to buy a contract if you will be connecting more than 5 times a month.

So how do they compare?
If you travel abroad a lot and you need constant access to internet, Vodafone is best option. Other carriers do not give you bundles with international allowance, but at the same time Vodafone is the most expensive. Vodafone also claims that speeds can be up to 7.2Mbps, which is the fastest but I am not sure what speeds you actually get when using it.

If we compare 12 months contract with 3GB allowance and USB Modem, 3 comes cheapest at £20.83 per month (including £69.99 for modem), followed by T-Mobile at £29 (you get free Wi-Fi connection) and then Vodafone at £38.25 (including £99 for modem). Good thing with Vodafone’s package is that you can cancel contract with 30 day notice, so no long-term commitments!

Comparing to basic BT broadband package, you will have to pay £11 phone line rental and £17.99 per month for 5GB package. In total you pay £28.99 per month, you get speeds of up to 8Mbps but you are not mobile. So as we can see, there are now mobile packages which are even cheaper than this and you have advantage of taking it with you whereever you go!

I personally tried T-Mobile’s USB Modem as well as Datacard. USB Modem is much more easier to install and use, it is really plug and play as they say. Datacard is compact and can sit inside your laptop, but there are problems if you remove it and then insert again. Drivers may need to be re-installed and your datacard will not be recognized. I would say USB Modem is much morefriendlier option and gives you flexibility to use it with laptop or PC. I found that daytime there could be times that you may not get decent connection speeds, eventhough you have full 3G reception signal. Night time connection is pretty reliable and you get decent speeds as well.

So decision is yours, it all depends on your choice of what you need and what you going to use it for!

If you have any comments or experience with mobile broadband, leave a comment!

You can buy it from 3 here.

With recent 15.0.015 firmware update for the N95 8GB from Nokia, handset is more stable and faster, and it adds full support for Flash Lite 3, including video, which automatically allows the use of sites such as YouTube. With this capabilities, you can utilize 3′s 3G network to the max, watch videos online, download music and browse media rich websites.

Black Nokia N95 8GB is already available for about 6 months from Vodafone.

I wonder when other providers will offer this handset so that customers on other networks can get hold of this handset.

If you own this handset and updated firmware recently, please share your experience!

See handset review here.