3g-g
18th December 2006, 12:23 AM
The man that saved Three? Are they serious?
Bob Fuller will quit his position as chief executive of 3, the UK mobile telecommunications group, in the first half of next year, according to well-placed industry sources.
Fuller, who has helped revive the fortunes of the company after a difficult launch three years ago, will be 60 this summer, when he is expected to hand over the reins to Kevin Russell, who joins 3 as deputy chief executive next month.
Russell has been parachuted into the job by 3's owner, Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong conglomerate headed by multi-billionaire Li Ka-shing. Before coming to Britain, he had been working for 3 in Australia.
Sources say that Fuller is held in high esteem by Hutchison and its managing director, Canning Fok, after helping 3 introduce third-generation mobile services into the UK before any of its competitors. But the company has yet to make a profit, although it is close to break-even and has nearly 4 million customers.
Some telecoms analysts wonder whether 3 has the scale to survive in the British mobile market, which is dominated by giants such as Vodafone, T-Mobile of Germany and 02, owned by Spanish company Telefonica.
Investment bankers say that 3's UK operations are being eyed by private equity groups and T-Mobile, but that Hutchison is reluctant to sell before the company is making healthy profits. 'They are committed owners, despite rumours to the contrary,' said one analyst.
A spokeswoman for 3 threw cold water at the idea that Fuller could soon retire. 'It is far too early to speculate on succession planning,' she said. Last week, 3 was forced to deny a story in a trade paper that Fuller was about to be axed as part of a management cull by Hutchison, which is said to be unhappy with the rate of progress at its British business.
A likeable Geordie, 59-year-old Fuller is hugely popular at the company whose headquarters are in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He recently launched its 'X Series' service, which, for a flat fee, allows customers to make unlimited calls using Skype, tune into their home television sets, tap into their PCs, or access internet and messaging services .
The firm was something of a basket case when Fuller arrived, facing complaints about inadequate network coverage, poor service and a dearth of handsets. 'It was tough. We were creating a new market and we were the new boys on the block,' he remembers. 'But in the end, we were the first to offer 3G, and no one can take that away from us.'
In Britain, 3 still does not make a taxable profit despite what analysts suspect is a £10bn investment by the company's Hong Kong owners. But Fuller recently told The Observer: 'We are turning the corner - there is light at the end of the tunnel. We have over 3.5 million subscribers and turnover is £1bn, with about £100m coming from the higher-value end . We are generating revenue at around £1m a month from music alone.'
Nevertheless, rivals snipe that 3 remains weak, and recently Vodafone said it would be interested in buying Hutchison's European assets after 3 pulled an IPO of its Italian business after a poor reception from investors. The Italian flotation was supposed to pave the way for a float of the UK arm.
Vodafone contends that 3's mobile assets are a likely target for any mobile player seeking to act as a consolidator in the cutthroat markets of western Europe. But Hutchison says the group has proved its critics wrong before.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1973581,00.html
Bob Fuller will quit his position as chief executive of 3, the UK mobile telecommunications group, in the first half of next year, according to well-placed industry sources.
Fuller, who has helped revive the fortunes of the company after a difficult launch three years ago, will be 60 this summer, when he is expected to hand over the reins to Kevin Russell, who joins 3 as deputy chief executive next month.
Russell has been parachuted into the job by 3's owner, Hutchison Whampoa, the Hong Kong conglomerate headed by multi-billionaire Li Ka-shing. Before coming to Britain, he had been working for 3 in Australia.
Sources say that Fuller is held in high esteem by Hutchison and its managing director, Canning Fok, after helping 3 introduce third-generation mobile services into the UK before any of its competitors. But the company has yet to make a profit, although it is close to break-even and has nearly 4 million customers.
Some telecoms analysts wonder whether 3 has the scale to survive in the British mobile market, which is dominated by giants such as Vodafone, T-Mobile of Germany and 02, owned by Spanish company Telefonica.
Investment bankers say that 3's UK operations are being eyed by private equity groups and T-Mobile, but that Hutchison is reluctant to sell before the company is making healthy profits. 'They are committed owners, despite rumours to the contrary,' said one analyst.
A spokeswoman for 3 threw cold water at the idea that Fuller could soon retire. 'It is far too early to speculate on succession planning,' she said. Last week, 3 was forced to deny a story in a trade paper that Fuller was about to be axed as part of a management cull by Hutchison, which is said to be unhappy with the rate of progress at its British business.
A likeable Geordie, 59-year-old Fuller is hugely popular at the company whose headquarters are in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He recently launched its 'X Series' service, which, for a flat fee, allows customers to make unlimited calls using Skype, tune into their home television sets, tap into their PCs, or access internet and messaging services .
The firm was something of a basket case when Fuller arrived, facing complaints about inadequate network coverage, poor service and a dearth of handsets. 'It was tough. We were creating a new market and we were the new boys on the block,' he remembers. 'But in the end, we were the first to offer 3G, and no one can take that away from us.'
In Britain, 3 still does not make a taxable profit despite what analysts suspect is a £10bn investment by the company's Hong Kong owners. But Fuller recently told The Observer: 'We are turning the corner - there is light at the end of the tunnel. We have over 3.5 million subscribers and turnover is £1bn, with about £100m coming from the higher-value end . We are generating revenue at around £1m a month from music alone.'
Nevertheless, rivals snipe that 3 remains weak, and recently Vodafone said it would be interested in buying Hutchison's European assets after 3 pulled an IPO of its Italian business after a poor reception from investors. The Italian flotation was supposed to pave the way for a float of the UK arm.
Vodafone contends that 3's mobile assets are a likely target for any mobile player seeking to act as a consolidator in the cutthroat markets of western Europe. But Hutchison says the group has proved its critics wrong before.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1973581,00.html