Vodafone, the biggest mobile network in the world, is experiencing problems with its business in Europe, where hard times are being experienced. Although the company is worth more than $100 billion, its shares have dropped by 2.5%. In addition, several analysts estimate that shares will continue to drop from between 4.7% and 5.5% during the quarter. Compared to other companies, such as France Telecom, Vodafone’s shares have dropped the most, with a 24.2% drop during the year.
With regard to the future of the company, analysts from Morgan Stanley argued that Vodafone can recover over the course of the year and that the coming months will be more forgiving. On the other hand, analysts from UBS commented that Vodafone’s situation will only worsen due to its trading style.
Meanwhile, in Greece, Vodafone is offering mobile broadband with HSPA+ in Athens. Those who have the Vodafone K4505 USB stick can use the service immediately. The service claims to have speeds of 5.7 Mbits/s when uploading and 21.6 Mbits/s when downloading. It is planned that the service will be offered in other areas in the future.
In Egypt, Vodafone is bidding for Orascom Telecom’s LinkDotNet. Other bidders include Mobinil and Telecom Egypt. Orascom Telecom and France Telecom own Mobinil. Orascom Telecom Chairman, Naguib Sawiris, commented that the Internet service provider would be sold to the highest bidder.
He also discussed Mobinil in relation to the dispute between Orascom Telecom and France Telecom over shares of the company. Orascom and France Telecom had different plans for running Mobinil. France Telecom reportedly was against the marketing and budget of Mobinil. An arbitration court has already ruled that Orascom must sell its shares to France Telecom.