2001

HELSINKI, Finland—Sonera sold approximately 11.5 million shares of Deutsche Telekom (DT) for nearly US$170 million, saying it will use the proceeds to cut its net debt. Sonera originally received the …

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Telia Mobile announced it is streamlining its mobile portal business by phasing out its various existing platforms and replacing them with one joint technical platform. The company said it …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Vodafone and the French-based media giant Vivendi have denied rumors that widespread job cuts are to take place at Vizzavi, their mobile Internet portal joint venture. The two …

MINSK, Belarus—Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) won the tender for the second GSM license in neighboring Belarus. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, who personally followed tender developments, announced the news. Lukashenko …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Recent efforts by European mobile operators to offer financial services looks set to lead to a clash with the global banking community. Most of Europe’s large operators have …

BUCHAREST, Romania—According to the Greek newspaper Naftemporiki, OTE Telecom is in discussions with the government of Macedonia regarding the country’s second GSM license. The Macedonian Press Agency said last week …

TORONTO—Canadian household Internet accounts will average annual growth of 16 percent between year-end 2000 and 2003, down from a yearly growth of more than 30 percent in the late 1990s. …

DALLAS, United States, and STOCKHOLM, Sweden—VoiceStream Wireless signed contracts with both Nortel Networks and Ericsson for its next-generation services. Nortel said it signed a US$300 million GSM contract to upgrade …

AUSTIN, Texas—SchlumbergerSema announced it will offer mobile commerce services to wireless carriers through a deal with Microcell i5, a subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications. Under the deal, SchlumbergerSema will integrate i5’s …

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia said it signed an agreement with Indonesian carrier Telkomsel to supply radio access network equipment and services to expand its GSM dual-band network. Under the pact, Nokia will …

SAN DIEGO, United States—Qualcomm said that Korea Telecom Freetel is the first carrier worldwide to introduce data application services based on its Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW) mobile Internet …

PARIS—Alcatel said it won two separate GSM network expansion contracts with China Mobile subsidiaries valued at US$70 million total. Shanghai Mobile’s eighth GSM expansion will include Alcatel’s Evolium series products. …

NEW YORK—Stockholm-based Columbitech began a full-scale commercial launch Sept. 28 in Europe of its wireless virtual private network product, which allows mobile device users to access their corporate databases quickly …

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must eliminate the spectrum cap as an interim measure while government and industry representatives attempt to find harmonized spectrum for third-generation (3G) wireless services, said …

SARATOGA, Calif.—Webraska, a provider of wireless navigation services and technologies, and AirFlash, a provider of location-based technologies and services, announced they are merging. The new company will be called Webraska. …

ATLANTA, United States—EMS Wireless said its Brazilian subsidiary achieved two operational milestones. Its three product lines have received certification by Brazil’s national telecom agency, Anatel. In addition, EMS Wireless products …

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—MoviStar Puerto Rico, a joint venture between Clearcomm and Telef

WASHINGTON—The Customs Service arrested two men and charged another with conspiring to smuggle encryption technology into China. The technology, embodied in two devices known as KIV-7HS units, is used to …

BOSTON, United States—The Yankee Group predicted that wireless infrastructure spending will increase from US$99.4 billion in 2001 to a maximum of US$120.2 billion in 2004 before declining to US$114.6 billion …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—SAP Regi

SAN JOSE, California, United States—U.S.-based Aeris.net and Mexico’s Telcel have launched a wireless telemetry network in Mexico. The network will offer nationwide service and will operate with Aeris.net products currently …

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—ITWeb users will be able to access the company’s news portal wirelessly through a deal with Clickatell. “This new wireless service offers our readers yet another tool …

REDWOOD CITY, California, United States—Just one week after a major sale to Telef

HELSINKI, Finland—Nokia announced plans for a wide-ranging test of mobile commerce products and services, moves that include making secure credit card payments using a mobile phone wallet application. Nokia is …

LONDON—U.K. telecom regulator Oftel imposed price controls on the country’s four mobile operators, saying British consumers would save $1.2 billion during the next four years. The controls will reduce revenues …