AirTouch Communications, a partner in Globalstar L.P. – one of three low-earth-orbit statellites recently licensed by the government is pursuing satellite-based mobile communications in Japan through a joint venture with Japanese trading company, Itochu Corp. AirTouch has globalstar service provider rights in several countries including the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Belgium and Portugal, and plans to form agreements with local companies in thse territories to start service. Under development by Loral Qualcomm L.P., Globalstar plans to deploy 48 LEO satellites by 1198 to provide voice, data, fax and position-locating services. Itochu is a $170 billion revenue-generating company involved in satellite communications in Japan.
Seacorp Communications Systems (H.K.) Ltd. has signed a sales contract to deliver 200,000 alphanumeric pagers to a jointly held subsidiary of the Chinese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and Catch Communication Ltd. Catch Communications is a Beijing municipal government-owned company and China’s second landline carrier. Seacorp values the contract at $22.4 million. The company said it made an initial delivery of 1,350 pagers since January and expects to ship the remainder over a 10-month period.
Millicom International Cellular S.A. is offering three million shares of its common stock priced at $26.13 per share. An additional 100,000 shares are being offered by a shareholder and the underwriters have an over-allotment option of 465,000 shares. The company said it expects net proceeds of the offering to be about $72 million. Millicom said it plans to invest proceeds in the development of new cellular systems in Vietnam and India, as well as in existing operations. Millicom said it currently offers or is licensed to offer cellular services in 19 countries.
Qualcomm Inc. said it joined with Wharf Communications Investments Ltd. and Singapore Telecom in a venture to bid for personal communications services licenses in Hong Kong. As part of various agreements, Qualcomm intends to provide the venture’s infrastructure equipment and portable phones based on Code Division Multiple Access digital technology. If the consortium wins a license, it would be the first to offer Hong Kong a CDMA-based PCS system, as opposed to the current Global System for Mobile communications-based system, Qualcomm said. Hong Kong’s tender for six new PCS licenses is expected to be announced in the third quarter.
Glenayre Technologies Inc. received a $6 million equipment contract from Bell Mobility Paging in Canada to build its new 900 MHz paging network and to upgrade its existing VHF channels, Glenayre announced. The new network, which will extend nationwide, will be built by Mobility Canada Corp. partners, which includes Bell Mobility. Bell Mobility provides paging service to more than 225,000 subscribers in Ontario and Quebec and is therefore responsible for deploying the 900 MHz system in those two provinces. Glenayre will supply transmitters, transmitter controllers and satellite receivers for the new network and transmitters to revamp the VHF network.
