Vodafone eager to become iPad wireless provider in the UK

Vodafone has set its sights on selling the Apple iPad in the UK after its success with the iPhone, which it started selling in the UK last month. Speaking after the world's largest mobile phone company by sales announced better-than-expected third-quarter results, chief executive Vittorio Colao said he was "very interested" in the iPad, which Apple boss Steve Jobs unveiled in San Francisco last week . "I have not, personally, touched one but I really look forward to it. I believe it is going to be another important piece of the [mobile] data experience.I think anything that improves the customer experience with mobile data is welcome and as such I would be very interested in having it." He refused to say whether any talks have actually taken place, but Apple is understood to be scouting for UK wireless partners for the device. Earlier this week O2 UK chief executive Ronan Dunne said he is also interested in the iPad, but it is unclear exactly how it will be sold this side of the Atlantic. There is speculation that O2 and Orange have already put in an order for the micro-SIMs needed to provide 3G wireless connectivity in the iPad. Orange has already started talks with Apple to sell the iPad in the UK . The company, owned by France Telecom, was also the first British network to break O2's exclusive hold on the iPhone. It started selling the handset last November and is understood to have sold over 200,000 by Christmas. Vodafone's third-quarter results yesterday were boosted by sales of smartphones, which pushed the company's revenues from mobile data services – such as internet browsing – over £1bn in the quarter for the first time in the firm's history. In the three months to end December, 25% of all new phones sold by Vodafone across the world were smartphones, up from 20% in the second quarter of the year, with the bulk of those sales in Europe. Colao said he expects smartphones to make up between 30% and 40% of all the phones the company sells in its next financial year to end March 2011. The figures were warmly welcomed by the City as showing signs of recovery in some key European markets such as the UK and Germany, where the company has lost ground to rivals and been battling against the tough economic climate, while its cost-cutting programme is also bearing fruit. Shares in the company were up almost 5% after the company raised its forecast for free cash flow for this year by £500m to between £6.5bn and £7bn and forecast annual operating profits of £11.4bn to £11.8bn, rather than its initial forecast of £11bn to £11.8bn. On a like-for-like basis, revenues fell slightly in the quarter but the decline was far less than in previous quarters. Overall third-quarter revenues were up more than 10% to £11.5bn as the company benefited from currency fluctuations. Colao said he was conditionally optimistic about the group's prospects. "I keep my feet on the ground; I see what I see. I see a few things going in the right direction. I see mobile data continuing to grow. I see a good performance in [fixed-line telecoms]. I see in some markets like the UK and Italy a good performance, but I still see a lot of price pressure in voice and I still see unemployment being a concern in Europe." There had been some speculation, ahead of the results, that shareholders were pushing for a break-up of the company as it has consistently underperformed its publicly quoted peers. Colao, however, said the size of the company – which has operations from western and central Europe through to Turkey, India and South Africa as well its Verizon Wireless joint venture in the US – not only gives it scale in purchasing, but also an advantage in international roaming rates and helps it to attract business customers"There is a full set of opinions on how to structure Vodafone and we take due notice of all of them," he said. "The board regularly reviews our corporate structure but there is unanimous consent now that in our opinion the current structure serves shareholders well."