AirTouch Communications Inc. announced that its cellular venture in Kyushu, Japan, has launched commercial service. Digital TU-KA Kyushu Co. Ltd. initially will serve the capital city, major highways and the railway line in the Kyushu area, reaching 80 percent of the region’s 14 million people, AirTouch said. This is AirTouch’s fourth Japanese cellular venture to launch service. The company also has wireless projects in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
L.M. Ericsson said it has signed an order for the first digital and analog wireless system in the Ukraine with Digital Cellular Communications, the privately owned operator in that region. Using Time Division Multiple Access technology, the system will be a combination of fixed and wireless communications service with the capacity to serve about 7,000 subscribers, Ericsson said. The first test call on the system is scheduled for March and commercial operation is expected to begin in May.
GTE Corp. announced that Compania de Telefonos del Interior S.A., a GTE-led consortium providing cellular telecommunications services in Argentina, closed a $510 million project financing facility. CTI provides cellular services to more than 120,000 customers in Argentina, GTE said. The CTI network has the potential to serve up to 22 million people in all areas of Argentina except Buenos Aires. GTE said the proceeds of the project will be used to purchase equipment and supplies necessary for the continued enhancement of CTI’s network and to repay short-term loans.
Coherent Communications Systems Corp. announced a mutual development agreement with Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co., an international cellular carrier based in Japan. Coherent said it will supply a customized version of its EC-6000 Series 2 Digital Echo Canceller. The product provides echo control for the full spectrum of wireline, wireless and satellite transmission systems, Coherent said. The agreement between the two companies involves an ongoing relationship, with a series of further shipments scheduled for this year.
Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group and the Centre for the Development of Telematics in India have completed telephone calls using a wireless local loop system with a direct digital interface, Motorola announced. Motorola said the phone calls were made from Motorola Israel’s WiLL development lab in Tel Aviv. Motorola and C-DoT will also conduct field tests of the fixed wireless system in India beginning in February. The fixed wireless system features Motorola’s trunked WiLL radio sub-system and the family of central office exchanges developed by C-DoT. With a direct digital interface, the fixed wireless network connects directly between the standard public switched telephone network C-DoT central office switch and the WiLL radio system without the need for an additional dedicated cellular switch or individual line per subscriber interface, Motorola said.
