Regulation

ESPOO, Finland, July 4/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A new regulatory framework is needed to encourage financial transactions by mobile phones and transform access to financial services in developing countries, claims a new policy report 'The Transformational Potential of M-Transactions', published today (4 July 2007) by Vodafone in partnership with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Nokia Siemens Network.

The report, Vodafone's sixth policy paper, of which three focus on the social impact of mobile phones, details new, independent research by leading economists from Frontier Economics and Groupe d'Economie Mondiale as well as consultants to the World Bank.

The suggested changes will have wide spread impact on both the economic development of countries and the financial security of millions of people currently without access to banking services.

Edinburgh, Scotland, 7th March 2007 -- Telecommunications regulation has come a long way over the years but has regulation actually been effective? In Europe, we have some compelling words on paper that provide a framework for regulation, yet progressive mobile messaging companies still find that they face what amounts to anti-competitive behaviour from a number of European mobile network operators (MNOs).

This anti-competitive behaviour is clearly seen in the area of interconnect in the mobile market. Interconnect between networks is essential for 3rd party network operators, such a mobile messaging company HSL, to deliver new or competing services to mobile subscribers and it is here that stronger and firmer regulation is essential. Based on HSL’s experience when attempting to obtain interconnect in Europe there are a large number of MNOs in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom that HSL believes are behaving in an anti-competitive manner.