News In Brief: Skype, Orange, Iliad, Guardian, Telenor

Skype has appointed ex- Sony Ericsson exec Miles Flint as its chairman. Flint currently advises PE firm Silver Lake, which invested in Skype in 2009. Skype has also appointed ex Thomoson Reuters and Microsoft exec David Gurle as general manager and VP of its Skype for Business division. He replaces Stefan Oberg, who decided to leave the company, effective March.

Orange UK is closing a call centre at its HQ in Bristol, risking 300 jobs. Affected staff have been offered relocation packages to move to other centres with those not willing to move being offered redundancy packages.
 
Iliad, France newest mobile operator has raised interest in acquiring more wireless spectrum, including 3G frequencies. The French regulator Arcep plans to allot additional frequencies later this year. Iliad, which offers triple-play fixed line services across the country, is gearing up for the national rollout of its new mobile network and is currently in negotiation with four equipment vendors – Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson and Huawei – to select a network partner.
 
The Guardian.co.uk claims to have sold 68,979 copies of its premium iPhone app since launching in December.  at  £2.39 a pop in the UK (and $3.99 in U.S.), that’s £164.859 in income over the month. Guardian News & Media has only just expanded the app outside of the UK, US and Ireland, in to “most European countries”, Australia and Canada.
 
Serbia's telecoms regulator Ratel confirmed Telenor as the only carrier to bid for the country's second fixed line licence valid for ten year. Three other companies, mobile operator VIP, Cyprian Kerseyco Trading and Serbian-American Konsing Group - had qualified for the bidding but declined to enter bids. Telenor’s financial bid will be opened by 18 January.