Arab operators are contemplating a challenge to OTT services that make money from their networks without, they claim, compensating the operators, reports Reuters. According to Osman Sultan, chief executive of U.A.E. operator du, the creation of a pan-Arab online social media platform has been under discussion for several months. Should Facebook , with its 45 million users in the Arab world, be worried?
Vodafone has unveiled its plans for the full integration of Cable & Wireless Worldwide plc (London: CW), which it acquired earlier this year for £1.044 billion (US$1.7 billion). The process is going to take years and cost a lot of money but, as Vodafone has been explaining to investors and analysts, it's going to be worth it. (See M&A Realities.)
Following a TV investigation into Telia Company 's purchase of a 3G license in Uzbekistan that aired in the operator's native Sweden last week, the Swedish prosecution authority has launched its own probe into the matter, reports Reuters. (See Euronews: TeliaSonera Denies Bribery.)
Imagination Technologies Group plc , the U.K.-based chip design firm, appears to have suffered collateral damage from Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN)'s decision to pull out of producing chips for smartphones and tablets, reports the Daily Telegraph. Texas Instruments is one of Imagination's biggest customers, and shares in Imagination slumped by about 11 percent Wednesday on the news.
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading