Canada
Microcell Telecommunications Inc. in a preview to its third-quarter results, to be released in mid-November, said it acquired 54,815 new subscribers during the third quarter. This represents a 77-percent year-over-year increase compared with third-quarter 1998, said Microcell, and brings its total base to 459,392.
The company said its growth is indicative of the overall growth trend in the Canadian wireless industry, with overall market growth 50-percent higher than third-quarter 1998. About 340,000 wireless customers were added during the last quarter, predicted Microcell.
“Third-quarter industry performance has pushed the Canadian wireless penetration rate beyond the 20-percent mark,” said Andre Trembley, chairman, president and CEO of Microcell. “This translates into an annualized penetration gain of more than four percentage points.”
If the current growth continues, the wireless penetration rate in Canada should pass 22 percent by year-end, with about 7 million subscribers, said Microcell.
Sweden
AU-System Mobile AB in Stockholm, Sweden, said it will change its name to Across Wireless to better reflect the nature of its business in providing wireless Internet and value-added services to Global System for Mobile communications personal communications services network operators.
Japan
Japan’s NTT Communications Group announced StarHub, a new fixed and mobile services provider in Singapore, has exclusive rights to distribute its global managed telecommunications services in Singapore.
The services, branded Arcstar, are targeted at corporate customers with international operations and can be offered beginning in April 2000, when StarHub launches commercial services. StarHub said it will launch with a base of more than 50 Arcstar customers.
NTT Communications has a 22-percent stake in StarHub, Singapore’s third operator for fixed and mobile telecommunications services.
