Vodafone Group plc agreed to purchase Data Bank of Greece S.A. through its subsidiary Vodafone Europe Holdings Ltd. Vodafone said the principal asset of Data Bank is a 10 percent share in Panafon S.A., one of two Global System for Mobile communications operators in Greece. In addition, Vodafone will acquire a stake in Panavox S.A., a service provider to Panafon. Vodafone already owns 45 percent of Panafon and Panavox. France Telecom Mobiles International owns 35 percent and Intracom S.A. of Greece owns the remaining 10 percent.
PT Mobile Selular Indonesia signed a credit note facility of around $32 million with 12 national banks for a long-term loan. The company said the financing event is proof of its commitment to the Indonesian government’s objective of rapid provision of telecommunications services during the next year.
Motorola Inc.’s Paging Products Group said the Indian government adopted the FLEX protocol as a paging standard for the country. The company said India had 400,000 paging subscribers last year and is expected to reach 6 million by 2000. Percy Batlivala, FLEX business manager for the Asia Pacific Paging Subscriber Division, said the FLEX protocol is ideal for India because it will ease capacity problems in cities like Delhi and Bombay.
Tellabs won a contract to deploy its Martis DXX managed access and transport network solution to Centertel, a mobile communications provider in Poland. Tellabs said the Martis DXX solution features digital cross-connect nodes, flexible multiplexers and other devices under the centralized control of advanced network management software. The system combines intelligent hardware with centralized management software to enable rapid deployment and reconfiguration of telecommunications transport networks. The Martis DXX will be used as part of a nationwide expansion of the network. The Centertel network serves 151,000 subscribers. Tellabs said the expansion will allow Centertel to cover Poland’s entire population of 38 million.
Motorola Inc.’s Asia Pacific Cellular Infrastructure Group won a supply contract from Pilipino Telephone Corp. to install a Code Division Multiple Access network in Piltel’s Mobiline cellular telephone network in the Philippines. Motorola will install and optimize the CDMA digital network, which includes the switch, radio and intelligent network. Development of the network, which will provide service to 60,000 subscribers in metropolitan Manila, will begin this quarter, and commercial service is scheduled to begin by mid-year. Motorola values the contract at more than $40 million. Piltel, which has been a landline telephone provider since 1968, also operates a nationwide paging system and other wireless services throughout the Philippines.
