Italy
NEC and Telecom Italia Mobile said they have agreed to work together in technical trials in March for Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems. Siemens also will cooperate in the trial. NEC will provide infrastructure and handsets. A series of further trials will be based around the W-CDMA air-interface system to confirm the software/hardware performance of W-CDMA and NEC’s system. NEC and Siemens established a joint venture company called Mobisphere Ltd. last November to cooperate on third-generation technology.
Liechtenstein
Viag Telecom won a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System license in Liechtenstein. The company plans to launch its network in January 2002.
Romania
Romtelcom plans to launch its mobile GSM 1800 network in March after one year of delays. CosmoRom will be the fourth GSM provider in Romania, along with SunTel, an NMT 450 operator, and GSM 900 operators Mobifon and MobilRom. The GSM 1800 service is currently operational after an investment of US$60 million from a total planned US$500 million investment. In the first stage, the service will be available in three major cities: Bucharest, Constantza and Brasov. The network will cover the main roads and will be gradually expanded, reaching the total coverage by mid-2002. The network infrastructure is supported by Ericsson, Intracom and Romanian company Intrarom.
Tajikistan
MCTR, a U.S company, announced that its Tajik-American venture, Somoncom, initiated commercial service of the first GSM system in the Republic of Tajikistan. The digital network will provide automatic access for cellular and international and domestic long-distance services, according to MCTR.
United Kingdom
BT Cellnet said it will be the first U.K. mobile phone operator to launch a commercial General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in second-quarter 2000.
