O2

Mobile Internet comes to the Czech Republic

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:53:02 -0500

Telefonica O2 Czech Republic has joined forces with mobile data personalisation and subscriber intelligence specialist ChangingWorlds to launch a mobile Internet service. ChangingWorlds has already worked with O2 in the UK and Germany by this is the first implementation in the Czech Republic. The service uses a new O2 Internet-like portal with a browser bar that provides intuitive support for users. ChangingWorlds' personalisation engine automatically selects new, fresh and relevant content for each user based on learned user content preferences and behavioural patterns.

For more on this story go to Mobile Europe and Telecomredux

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Femtocells: O2 delays commercial launch, prepares for more trials

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:47:04 -0400

Having already conducted consumer and equipment trials earlier this year, Telefónica O2 is now looking to another femtocell pilot early next year. This retesting will mean O2 will miss its earlier forecast of a commercial femtocell launch during Q1/09.

The femtocells developer Ubiquisys, which took part in O2's trial this year, said a phased approach should not be unexpected and would be typical of the way operators evaluate new technologies and products, such as femtocells. "With lab trials, internal tests and commercial pilots, you would expect separate discreet stages," said the company's VP of marketing, Keith Day.

The conclusion that other operators interested in deploying femtocells might draw from this delay, given that O2 has been a firm advocate for the technology, is that the business case for 3G home access points and services remains in question. This might also bring into doubt reports that 2010 would be the year of significant deployments for femtocells in Europe.

For more on this story:
- go to Unstrung

Related articles:
Operators delay femtocell deployments. Femtocell story
Vital femtocell standards agreed. Standards story
Femtocells--big market, bigger questions. Editorial

O2 forces customers onto 18-month contracts

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:10:26 -0400

Despite being popular with customers, O2 has withdrawn its 12-month contract option and moved to a minimum of 18-months. The company, which stated that this move will be implemented within its own stores and independent retailers, reflected a broader tendency towards longer contracts, albeit they were disliked by consumers.

Most networks have tried to discourage 12-month deals by either not offering the most attractive handsets for free or by having less attractive line-rental bundles. However, customers have complained signing up for 18-month or longer contracts left them with outdated handsets and possibly locked into uncompetitive contracts.

But the move towards 18-month contracts has proved successful for operators, with recent statistics from the market research firm GfK indicating 18-month contracts now dominate the market, with more than 84 per cent being sold in July 2008.

A few weeks ago GfK released data claiming subscribers churning from contracts halved in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007 -- dropping from 26 per cent to 13 per cent. This shift is perhaps the first indication that the major operators' priority this year to stop contract customers leaving their networks is paying off.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Today

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Apple Chooses O2 as Exclusive Carrier for iPhone in UK. O2 18-month contract story
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Voice shortcodes get cross-network support

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:03:25 -0400

UK cell phone users will now be able to use voice shortcodes across all UK mobile network operators for the first time following the agreement from O2 that it will launch the service next month. Content providers claim the move will bring benefits including transparent cross network pricing for premium rate calls.

According to Alex Moir, MD of MX Telecom, a UK-based mobile content provider, "This development finally enables voice shortcodes to fulfil their potential as the perfect cross-network voice solution. A voice shortcode can operate as a single product, or it can integrate with SMS, MMS and video, creating a multimedia mobile experience using the same memorable five digit number."

Voice shortcodes are five digit premium rate numbers which are available to all subscribers -- unlike traditional landline premium numbers which are often blocked by the mobile operator.

For more on this story:
- go to Cellular News and MarketWatch

Related article:
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O2 pushes 3G iPhone sales to retain exclusivity

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:36:18 -0400

Using large chunks of its customer acquisition budget, along with sustained TV, billboards and print advertising, has enabled O2 UK to achieve weekly 3G iPhone sales of around 30,000.

Albeit down from the 50,000 per week following the launch in July, O2 is reported to be pushing sales of the 3G iPhone hard in order to retain its exclusivity for Apple phones. Already the company is said to have gained between four and six per cent of the UK handset market with this device -- an uptake that must make rival suppliers go many shades of green with envy.

O2 has recently launched a prepay version of the 3G iPhone and hopes this will further boost numbers in the lead up to Christmas. However, worsening economies in the UK might threaten the success of this marketing plan.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Today

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O2 calls upon rivals to help NFC m-payments succeed

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:24:09 -0400

Having spent the effort conducting a trial of NFC-enabled handsets, O2 is now calling upon other cell phone operators to lead an industry taskforce to ensure the rapid uptake of m-commerce services.

This proposal of bringing together industry rivals -- and this not only includes mobile operators, but retailers, banks and transport firms -- is to enable mobile payments across a widespread number of outlets and services with the infrastructure and deployment costs being shared accordingly.

The six-month O2 Wallet trial involved 500 of its subscribers using an NFC-enabled Nokia 6131 to use London Transport via a built in Oyster card and make small store payments with Barclaycard and Visa. The company is now keen that commercial deployment takes place by 2012, coinciding with the London Olympics.

O2's head of NFC, Claire Maslen, said, "To make this a reality we need to work across industries with a shared vision of future commercial services."

M-payments have been deployed in Japan for some years with a reasonable level of success, especially on transport systems. However, the number of cell phone users making small retail purchases remain low.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile News

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O2 turns down Nokia's flagship N96

Paul Rasmussen — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:41:01 -0400

Perhaps the most anticipated cellphone launch of the year has failed to attract O2's attention. The company has decided the Nokia N96 will not be sold from its retail outlets, even though Nokia has dragged forward the release date of the N96 by one month in an attempt to disrupt the success of the 3G iPhone.

The reason, apparently, is that O2 has already allocated the bulk of its subsidy budget for this year to the 3G iPhone. The company is said to want to reduce the spiralling costs associated with subsidising handsets, especially high-end devices like the N96 which has a retail price of around €500.

O2 is also concerned on two other fronts -- will the highly-complex N96 be bug free given Nokia's rush to market? Early N95's were plagued with software and component issues that are a nightmare for operators. And, perhaps more importantly, O2 is under growing pressure to achieve its iPhone targets for this year, or risk losing it exclusivity contract with Apple.

Separately, although conspiracy advocates will have otherwise, O2 has also announced it will scrap the role of head of brand innovation.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Today

Related articles:
Nokia launches three N-Series smartphones. handset launch story
Nokia sweet-talks operators over revenue share concerns. Nokia story

Pre-roll video ads prove popular for O2

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:48:26 -0400

A six-week study to test the effectiveness of pre-roll mobile adverts has proven to be successful with nearly nine out of 10 cell phone users being happy to receive them.

The test, which took place on O2's Active portal, rewarded the 600 triallists with free video content that accompanied each pre-roll ad. This trade-off of watching a mobile pre-roll ad in exchange for free video content was especially popular with males and the younger audience. 88 per cent said they were happy with the concept.

Other key findings indicated:

Mobile pre-roll ads were attention grabbing and increased brand recognition.
Nearly 60 per cent said the mobile ads made them more interested in the advertised brand.
Over 60 per cent said it gave a good impression of the brands being advertised.

4th Screen Advertising, which conducted the study, said it was essential for companies such as themselves to understand the power of mobile advertising to deliver brand awareness in the U.K. market place. "I believe that understanding what your customers want to view is a key to the success of every targeted mobile advertising campaign," said Mark Slade, MD of 4th Screen Advertising.

For more on this story:
- go to Netimperative

Related:
Mobile TV uptake hindered by lack of awareness. Mobile video story
Leading Operators Work Together to Measure Mobile Advertising. Mobile advertising story
Vodafone Italia launches ad-supported mobile video. Vodafone Italia story

T-Mobile goes aggressive--mimics winners' tactics

Paul Rasmussen — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:59:45 -0400

Having lagged behind the market for some years, T-Mobile UK has launched a price-cutting war offering to better any deal from rival mobile networks. The offensive, which the company hopes will see it lifted from fourth in the league table, mimics the highly successful SIM-only deals pioneered recently by O2 and Vodafone. T-Mobile's UK chief executive, Jim Hyde, claims that this new initiative will grab the attention of customers given that voice minutes remain the #1 issue. "The biggest application of mobile is still voice, and for those customers one of the biggest pain points is 'I signed up for a tariff last week and now I open up the newspaper and there's a better offer with more minutes for my money.'"

Whether this belated move by T-Mobile will lift the lacklustre image that presently surrounds the company is questionable. Network coverage is still perceived by many as poor and the company has failed to achieve a marketing success since it launched its Flext tariffs two years ago, which won customers from O2, Orange and Vodafone.

For more on this story:
- go to The Guardian and Pocket Review

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BT and O2 extend iPhone WiFi deal

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:59:55 -0400

U.K. mobile operator O2 and BT Openzone have struck a deal to enhance the unlimited WiFi access package currently available to O2's iPhone customers. Beginning July 17th, iPhone users will be able to access more than 3,000 Openzone WiFi hotspots at no extra cost. O2 already has an agreement with WiFi operator The Cloud and this new deal will allow iPhone users the use of more than 9,000 public WiFi hotspots. Both the EDGE iPhone and the new 3G iPhone automatically select the fastest available network, switching seamlessly to WiFi when in a hotspot coverage area.

For more on this story:
- read Cellular News and Mobile Today

Related story:
Apple announces O2 as UK iPhone carrier. Article