5 things to know today…
1. Mitel’s agreement to buy Polycom has been derailed by a private equity firm with a higher offer. Siris Capital said its $2 billion offer represents a 13.6% premium to Mitel’s offer, which was announced in April. Mitel’s offer was initially valued at $1.96 billion, but it was a cash and stock offer and the company’s share price has declined since the offer was first announced. According to Siris, Polycom’s board is set to accept the higher offer and will terminate its merger agreement with Mitel.
Polycom is a provider of video conferencing solutions and has been in business for more than two decades. Siris Capital is an investor group that focuses on telecom and mobile communications. Past investments include indoor small cell developer Airvana, purchased last year by CommScope, and signaling specialist Tekelec, purchased by Oracle in 2013.
2. A startup called Fairphone is making a smartphone without using minerals that support warlords or forced labor in Africa. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company’s Android phone is made using the same materials found inside many other phones, and the minerals are sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“While conflict-free minerals are certainly available from other countries, our goal is to work directly where we can contribute to alternatives to current mining practices, empowering workers and improving the livelihoods of the local population,” Fairphone explains on its website.
Fairphone’s current flagship phone is a 5.1 inch, LTE Android phone with a clear back that allows users to see what’s inside. The company will sell components directly to its customers, so that they can repair their phones themselves if they want to. The phone retails for $580.
3. India’s $4 smartphone is set for delivery today to up to 5,000 people, according to local media. The phone is called the Freedom 251 because it is set to retail for 251 rupees, or about $4. According to the phone’s manufacturer, Ringing Bells, the Freedom 251 has a 1.3 gigahertz quad core processor, a 1450 milliamp hours battery and comes with a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.
4. India’s Bharti Airtel has reportedly reached a spectrum swap deal with Aircel, another Indian operator. As part of the deal, Bharti Airtel is said to be surrendering some of its 1800 megahertz spectrum in India’s Odisha area, because the Aircel spectrum would push Bharti Airtel over the 25% threshold. Indian law prevents telecom operators from owning more than 25% of the available spectrum in any area.
5. European mobile operators are warning regulators that net neutrality clouds the outlook for investments in “5G” technologies. In their “5G manifesto” published last week, the companies wrote:
“The telecom industry warns that current net neutrality guidelines, as put forward by BEREC [the Body of European Regulators], create significant uncertainties around 5G return on investment. Investments are therefore likely to be delayed unless regulators take a positive stance on innovation and stick to it.”
The document presented to European Union Commissioner Günther Oettinger includes input from Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, BT and Nokia.
