2001

PARIS—The standoff between the French government and mobile-phone operator SFR, which is backed by Vivendi Universal, was at least delayed this week, with SFR paying the initial US$566 million payment …

SWINDON, United Kingdom—Lucent said it completed a live high-speed data call using a variety of mobile Internet services on commercial Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) equipment. The call delivered a …

BEIJING—Officials at the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) indicated they may issue up to three new mobile-phone licenses to offer increased competition to the current two operators, China Mobile and …

HONK KONG—Motorola Inc. says it has signed a three-year, $44 million contract to supply GSM 1800 infrastructure for Malaysia’s carrier Telecom Cellular, whose service name is TM Touch, in two …

DALLAS—In its ongoing effort to pull itself out of bankruptcy, WebLink Wireless Inc. announced several reconstruction-and-reduction moves it plans to make. The company will shut down its San Antonio, Texas, …

MADRID, Spain—Xfera, one of four companies in Spain with a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) license, unveiled plans to lay off 25 percent of its work force due to further …

LONDON—Vodafone Group added 2.5 million worldwide proportionate subscribers during the third quarter, bringing the wireless giant’s proportionate customer base to 95.6 million subscribers. However, the number was the third decline …

OWINGS MILLS, Maryland, United States—According to sources, Aether Systems will cut an additional 280 jobs in an effort to cut costs and meet its financial goals. In an internal memo …

TOKYO—NEC has joined the Mobile Electronic Transactions (MeT) Initiative, which seeks to develop open and common industry framework for secure mobile transactions. “The MeT Initiative is very pleased to welcome …

VIENNA, Va.—Teligent Inc. said its auction to sell its remaining assets has been rescheduled for Oct. 11. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan is overseeing the proceedings.

LONDON—Mobile virtual network operator Virgin Mobile launched a new range of short message service and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)-based wireless Internet applications built on InfoSpace’s wireless platform, the companies announced. …

GOTEBORG, Sweden—Hewlett-Packard selected WirelessCar to integrate its universal telematics network into HP’s telematics solutions, WirelessCar said. “HP’s telematics solutions, powered by the WirelessCar universal telematics network platform and the range …

HELSINKI, Finland—With an eye to improving efficiency, Nokia says it plans to slash 260 positions at its plant in Salo, which amounts to 5 percent of the work force. The …

TORONTO—Nortel Networks has slashed 20,000 jobs as it announced it expects a US$3.6 billion third-quarter loss, bringing its total loss for the current fiscal year to US$20 billion. The new …

TORONTO—Conexys said its South African subsidiary signed a three-year channel partnership agreement with South African Philips Business Communications valued at about 15.5 million rand (US$1.8 million) during the next 18 …

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MONTREAL—Bell Canada International (BCI) said its Telecom Am

EDINBURGH, Scotland—Digital Bridges and Purple Scotland announced an agreement in mobile gaming. Purple will become co-publisher of the Classic collection of games on Digital Bridges’ Wirelesssgames’ channel. The companies are …

LONDON—Algeria’s second GSM license holder, Orascom Telecom, announced it will begin operating Algeria’s second mobile-phone network in January, two months ahead of schedule. Orascom, which won the license in July …

LONDON—Swedish vendor Ericsson has joined forces with Morocco’s Finance.Com, a subsidiary of BMCE Bank, to launch the country’s first mobile portal for financial transactions. The project, which is to be …

DUBLIN, Ireland—Ireland’s telecom regulator published a draft paper on the strategic management of Ireland’s radio spectrum. The regulator is seeking comments on issues raised in the paper, which covers all …

HELSINKI, Finland—Danish competition officials, reacting to confidential information of cartel arrangements within the mobile telephone sector, have staged raids on the head offices of the country’s largest mobile phone operators, …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia began shipping its General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) phones in Europe on 28 September, barely making the third-quarter deadline it had set for itself for commercially offering GPRS …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Telia launched Finland’s first General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) service, called Telia Mobile Online. The service provides a continuous connection tot he Internet and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) services. …

HONG KONG—Bharti Enterprises selected install Motorola to install a US$70 million GSM network including General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) equipment in the telecom circles of western India. The contract covers …