JAPAN
NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. filed applications with Japan’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications seeking approval for an international call service based on a service agreement between NTT DoCoMo and AT&T Corp. NTT DoCoMo has established a network directly connecting its gateway switch to AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s gateway switch by international leased circuit, said the company.
FINLAND
Nokia Corp. plans to deliver a turnkey 1800 MHz Global System for Mobile communications network to the Oulun Puhelin Oy telephone company. The mobile switching equipment and base station system will be used to build a wireless local loop network in the northern Finland city of Oulu and its surrounding areas, said Nokia.
BRAZIL
Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group was awarded an exclusive $220 million contract from Glabaltelecom of Brazil to supply the infrastructure equipment for an analog and Code Division Multiple Access dual-mode system. The network will cover Region 5, a large southern section of the country with a population of nearly 14 million, said Motorola CIG. The region includes three major metropolitan areas of Brazil centered in Curitiba, Blumenau and Londrina, as well as the resort cities of Florianapolis and Foz do Iguacu. The initial five-year contract, featuring locally manufactured base stations, calls for system implementation to begin immediately, with commercial operation scheduled for October.
RUSSIA
Techinfo Communications launched its Time Division Multiple Access network in the south Russian city of Sochi, said Northern Telecom Ltd., which supplied the network infrastructure equipment. Sochi is a resort town as well as one of the most-developed business regions in Russia. Techinfo also plans to introduce a fixed wireless access service to target residential users as well as farmers and small businesses in areas where wireline service is not available, Nortel said.
