VODAFONE LAUNCHES NEW FIXED LINE-BROADBAND PACKAGE - Vodafone Ireland has decided that it is going after fixed line phone customers and DSL broadband customers. The company is offering the new service from today with an offer for fixed line internet and broadband with a few frills on the mobile side for a package of €49 a month. Vodafone claims that is a saving on what it would regard as the equivalent package from Eircom of €120 a year.
The chief executive of Vodafone in Ireland, Charles Butterworth, says the company wants to move from being just a mobile phone operator into the 'total communications' market. 'Vodafone at Home' offers home phone and broadband services combined. He denies the move is a result of a poor takeup of the company's mobile broadband offering. He says the firm's mobile broadband service now has 75,000 customers, up from just 20,000 a year ago.
He says Vodafone is trying to get new broadband customers on board, as well as going after Eircom's existing customers. He says the company wants to really drive the takeup of broadband here and says there is real value in the new package it is offering.
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MORNING BRIEFS - Vodafone Ireland says it has 2.33 million customers in Ireland and in the first three months of this year Vodafone says the total number of voice minutes used increased by 9.3% to 1,551 million. The number of texts grew 22% to 936 million. ARPU or average revenue per user each month fell 1.3% in the quarter to €44 down from €44.60.
*** Vodafone Ireland's parent group has reported underlying pre-tax profits of £8.93 billion sterling for the year to the end of March, up 2% on the previous year. The group also said that its chief executive Arun Sarin would step down at the end of July. Mr Sarin leaves after five years in charge.
*** The chief executive of Europe's biggest lender today called on central bankers to raise interest rates in order to combat inflation. Michael Geoghegan, group chief executive at London-based HSBC Holdings, said central banks were not yet committed to taming inflation. He also predicted that US interest rates would rise after the US presidential election in November.
*** The price of oil continues to increase this morning. New York crude increased 81 cents a barrel to $133 while London Brent climbed 50 cents to $132.86 after a reported attack on an oil pipeline in Nigeria.
*** On the currency markets, the euro is worth $1.5817 and 79.70 pence sterling.
