Digital TU-KA Chugoku Co. Ltd. launched commercial service in the Chugoku area of Japan, serving the capital city, major highways and the railway line. AirTouch Communications Inc. owns 4.5 percent of the Chugoku operator, as well as five other Digital TU-KA cellular companies offering service in Japan. AirTouch said TU-KA’s pre-launch advertising campaign has resulted in 27,000 applications for service. The company is headquartered in Hiroshima.
Brite Voice Systems Inc. announced it has entered the Middle East’s mobile telecommunications market with systems and services for network operators in Lebanon and Jordan. More than 40,000 Libancell customers in the Republic of Lebanon will receive voice messaging services through a Voice Services Director system. “The need for mobile communications in Lebanon has soared. Consumer demand for telecommunications is great, and wireline capacity is insufficient. Consequently, demand for wireless will continue to grow,” said Tony White, Brite’s vice president of sales for the Middle East and Africa. The company said Libancell subscribers also will benefit from a short message service product that is fully integrated with voice mail and provides text message notification to subscribers via their cellular telephones. Brite said it also installed a multi-application VSD system for Fastlink, the main mobile phone operator in Jordan, which currently supports 15,000 subscribers.
L.M. Ericsson has signed an agreement to provide a digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service network for BSC de Panama SA. The initial order is valued at $12 million. The initial phase of construction is scheduled to begin in June, to cover Panama City. By September, the network is expected to cover Colon as well as the connecting highway. The total contract is valued at $25 million. BSC de Panama is a joint venture of BellSouth Corp., Guatemala’s Grupo Botran and The Multiholding Corp., a holding company of the financial group Grupo Bancomerde Panama. Service will be marketed under the BellSouth name.
Alcatel Telecom won a 5-year contract to implement the third digital cellular network in Java, Indonesia, for Satelindo. Alcatel values the contract at $130 million. Satelindo’s Global System for Mobile communications network will cover Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Semarang. Alcatel will be responsible for providing a turnkey system, including the microwave transmission equipment and network engineering. The system is scheduled to be deployed in one year. Satelindo has 130,000 subscribers on what it says is Indonesia’s largest cellular network. Satelindo is owned 25 percent by Germany-based Deutsche Telekom AG’s DeTeMobil; other owners are PT Birnagraha Telekomindo (45 percent), PT Telkom (22.5 percent) and Indosat (7.5 percent).
