LISBON -(Dow Jones)- ZON Multimedia is at the final stage of its talks with the Portuguese unit of the UK's Vodafone Group for the launch of a mobile virtual network operator, Portugal's national news agency Lusa reported Wednesday, citing Chief Financial Officer Jose Pedro Pereira Da Costa.
Portugal's second-largest telecommunications company, which plans to launch the MVNO in the second half of the year, began negotiations with Vodafone in February.
An MVNO leases all, or most, of its capacity from other operators and then sells it on to customers, saving the cost of building and maintaining a network.
ZON, which has a 75% share of the country's cable television market, would also become the country's second MVNO, after that launched late last year by Portuguese postal company CTT, using the infrastructure of TMN, the mobile telecommunications unit of ZON's former parent company Portugal Telecom.
Rival Sonaecom, which owns mobile operator Optimus, has also said it is considering launching an MVNO but didn't provide an exact timetable for this.
ZON wasn't immediately available to comment.
Agency Web site: www.lusa.pt
-By Filipa Cunha, Dow Jones Newswires; +351-21-3191863; filipa.cunha@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Posted to the site on 7th May 2008
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/31025.php