Vodafone Mulling $9.5 Billion Bid for Spanish Cable Operator:

Vodafone is continuing to build up its landline assets in Europe with a reported EUR7 billion (US$9.5 billion) offer to buy the Spanish cable operator, Ono.

Citing unnamed sources, the Reuters news agency reported that Vodafone offered the deal to the company's private equity owners.

Ono's owners had planned a stock market listing, and Vodafone is seeking to persuade them to go for a straight trade sale instead. That would also be cheaper than a listing, providing a price can be agreed.

It would still need the usual regulatory approvals though.

Ono sells fixed and mobile phone, TV and internet services.

Vodafone's offer is expected to be discussed by Ono's board today and is said to be the second attempt to buy the company after its previous offer was rejected as too low.

The company's owners may hold out for an offer in the region of EUR9 billion. However, that puts the cable operator valuation at around 1.5 times the value of its local mobile network.

US Court Partially Overturns Net Neutrality Regulations:

The USA's Court of Appeals has partially overturned a regulatory ruling that imposed so-called net neutrality rules on internet services in the country.

The regulator, the FCC had imposed the rules that require all internet content to be treated transparently and without bias, but Verizon challenged the order, and secured part of what it wanted.

The Open Internet Order, which was passed in December 2010 only applies to landline internet providers. Mobile networks are still able to moderate internet traffic if they feel the need to.

Verizon has argued that in addition to poor policy making, that the ruling effectively blocks its First Amendment rights.

The court ruled that the FCC had not correctly justified its imposition of net neutrality on the telecoms networks, but has said that the FCC has the general authority to regulate how ISPs treat internet traffic.

In a statement, the Chairman of the FCC, Tom Wheeler said that the regulator "will consider all available options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the Internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expression, and operate in the interest of all Americans."

Mideast operators join race for African telecoms:

Connecting another billion people to the internet is an ambition for many mobile operators, which see the relatively untapped markets of Africa as the next big opportunity for growth.

With a lack of fixed-line infrastructure in many parts of the continent, people have embraced smartphones as their means of connecting to the web, which has placed mobile operators among the main providers of internet services in Africa.

The number of broadband connections over cellular networks is expected to top 250m by the end of 2015. A fifth of internet traffic in Africa will be carried by mobile broadband by 2015, according to Informa Telecoms and Media, compared with 3 per cent globally.

Demand for telecoms services is high, as parts of the continent are becoming increasingly affluent. However, poorer areas also represent a good opportunity for telecoms operators that offer plans designed to get users connected to social networking sites using mobile devices.

Mobile is at the centre of life in Africa, where it has applications from sending vaccination reminders by text to credit lines for farmers. The M-Pesa mobile payment system is so successful that it acts as a quasi-currency.

Telecoms executives regard Africa as one of the most dynamic regions for an industry facing low growth in more mature markets where many people already have multiple mobile devices.