3UK said Friday it will pass on the government's 2.5% cut in VAT to its customers from this weekend.
"We've moved the VAT cut forward to start on all devices and accessories purchased this weekend," said Marc Allera, sales and marketing director at 3UK.
The U.K. government's Pre-Budget Report earlier this week introduced a temporary 2.5% cut in VAT, which will take effect from the beginning of December and will last until the end of 2009.
A statement from 3 said tariffs will still be displayed at existing prices in its stores as well as online, but a price reduction will automatically be applied at the point of purchase.
Cuts will also be applied to monthly bills, while prepay customers will receive extra credit - so a £10 top up results in £10.18 worth of credit.
"VAT coming down puts a little more power in the pockets of consumers, so we thought 'why wait until December'", said Allera.
Employees sue over Windows Vista
A number of U.S. companies that have rolled out Windows Vista are being sued by staff claiming they have lost out on overtime pay due to time spent waiting for the operating system to boot up and shut down.
An article on the Register reports that employees paid by the hour are only clocked into PC-based time keeping systems once they have logged in - a process that takes as long as 15 minutes thanks to Windows Vista's long boot cycle.
At the end of the day, workers clock out again, but wait without pay while the computer logs off.
A Nevada-based law practitioner said in the report that employees are losing up to two hours of pay per week, and that damages could run into millions of dollars over a three-year period.
Probably not the most telecoms-related story you'll read this week, although AT&T is one of the companies named in the lawsuit.
Click here for the original story, and click here for breaking news that is telecoms-related!
An article on the Register reports that employees paid by the hour are only clocked into PC-based time keeping systems once they have logged in - a process that takes as long as 15 minutes thanks to Windows Vista's long boot cycle.
At the end of the day, workers clock out again, but wait without pay while the computer logs off.
A Nevada-based law practitioner said in the report that employees are losing up to two hours of pay per week, and that damages could run into millions of dollars over a three-year period.
Probably not the most telecoms-related story you'll read this week, although AT&T is one of the companies named in the lawsuit.
Click here for the original story, and click here for breaking news that is telecoms-related!
Mobile TV revenues to hit $1.5bn this year
With the exception of a couple of isolated cases, Europe will not see rapid growth in mobile TV until 2009, Informa Telecoms & Media confidently predicted on Wednesday. They're probably onto a winner with that one, given that there are only 6 weeks remaining in 2008.
The analyst firm forecasts that mobile TV will generate revenues of $1.5 billion worldwide in 2008, rising to $10 billion-plus in 2013. In the next two years revenue growth will come from Japan and Korea, with the rest of the world catching up by 2010-2011. The U.S. will remain a laggard, due to confusion over standards.
As it stands, the bulk of mobile TV revenues come from subscriptions, although Informa sees a trend towards advertising-funded services, predicting that ad revenues will account for close to half the total by 2013.
The analyst firm forecasts that mobile TV will generate revenues of $1.5 billion worldwide in 2008, rising to $10 billion-plus in 2013. In the next two years revenue growth will come from Japan and Korea, with the rest of the world catching up by 2010-2011. The U.S. will remain a laggard, due to confusion over standards.
As it stands, the bulk of mobile TV revenues come from subscriptions, although Informa sees a trend towards advertising-funded services, predicting that ad revenues will account for close to half the total by 2013.
Fantastical Huawei facts
You may have already guessed it, but in case you didn't, I've spent the last week looking round Huawei's Shenzhen headquarters as part of a small group of journalists; interviewing executives and finding out about the company.
What struck me most during the trip, other than the sheer quantity of Chinese food I consumed, was the scale of the vendor's operation. Read on for a few facts you might not find in the annual report:
Huawei as of the end of September employed more than 96,000 people worldwide.
Of those employees, nearly 50% are engaged in research and development.
Around 40,000 workers are based at the the company's Shenzhen headquarters, which covers 1.3 square kilometres, has its own bus service to ferry people between buildings, a hotel, and not surprisingly, a huge staff canteen.
3,000 employees actually live on the site in dedicated living quarters. They have their own shops and bars, and can also take art and music lessons from visiting tutors.
Of course, no corporate campus would be complete without its own university, so Huawei has one of those, plus a separate dedicated facility for executive-level training.
Finally, Huawei is 100% staff-owned. Chief executive Ren Zhengfei owns less than 1% of the company.
What struck me most during the trip, other than the sheer quantity of Chinese food I consumed, was the scale of the vendor's operation. Read on for a few facts you might not find in the annual report:
Huawei as of the end of September employed more than 96,000 people worldwide.
Of those employees, nearly 50% are engaged in research and development.
Around 40,000 workers are based at the the company's Shenzhen headquarters, which covers 1.3 square kilometres, has its own bus service to ferry people between buildings, a hotel, and not surprisingly, a huge staff canteen.
3,000 employees actually live on the site in dedicated living quarters. They have their own shops and bars, and can also take art and music lessons from visiting tutors.
Of course, no corporate campus would be complete without its own university, so Huawei has one of those, plus a separate dedicated facility for executive-level training.
Finally, Huawei is 100% staff-owned. Chief executive Ren Zhengfei owns less than 1% of the company.
Voda to issue profit warning?
Speculation is growing that global mobile giant Vodafone could be the next major telco to issue a profit warning, ahead of its half-year results announcement next week.
According to U.K. newspaper the Times, there are signs that Voda is attempting to manage expectations on earnings, with the operator having contacted a number of financial analysts to gauge latest forecasts. As a result, the telco's share price took a hit.
Analysts agree that the company's reliance on developed markets for the bulk of its earnings could be its undoing, compounded by any disappointment in its emerging markets numbers.
Vodafone will publish its 1H figures on 11 November. Log on to Total Telecom - www.totaltele.com - for the news as it happens.
According to U.K. newspaper the Times, there are signs that Voda is attempting to manage expectations on earnings, with the operator having contacted a number of financial analysts to gauge latest forecasts. As a result, the telco's share price took a hit.
Analysts agree that the company's reliance on developed markets for the bulk of its earnings could be its undoing, compounded by any disappointment in its emerging markets numbers.
Vodafone will publish its 1H figures on 11 November. Log on to Total Telecom - www.totaltele.com - for the news as it happens.
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