BUCHAREST, Romania—Romania’s NMT operator, Telemobil, plans to commercially launch Zapp Mobile services on 7 December using cdma2000 technology. The new digital service, estimated at a cost of US$350 million, will offer high-speed packet data at 153 kilobits per second (kbps).
In the first phase, Zapp Mobile will cover more than 30 cities and towns in Romania in addition to a large number of communes and villages and the major highways of the country. Network rollout will continue to ensure 95-percent population coverage by early 2003.
Telemobil is owned 99.5 percent by Inquam Romania, backed by U.S.-based Qualcomm, with the remaining shares held by Omnia, a Middle Eastern fund.
At the beginning of November, the Romanian Prime Minister held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans to discuss bilateral commercial issues. Evans said that it is important for Romania to continue economic reforms and highlighted projects by U.S. firms Qualcomm and Harris in Romania’s fast-growing information technology sector.
