2002

BEIJING—China’s two mobile-phone operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, have reached an agreement to let users of one network send short messages to users of the other network. The operators …

LONDON—The Malaysian government is set to issue tender documents for third-generation (3G) license applicants. The three licenses that are due to be awarded will be based on wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) technology. …

BEIJING—The China Mobile Group forecasts revenues of 48.8 billion yuan (US$17.98 billion) this year, 10.5 percent up from last year. Revenue growth has slowed from 30.9 percent in 2000 and …

NEW DELHI, India—Bharti Telecom will launch its cellular services in Mumbai in May, Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Mittal announced on Wednesday in Mumbai. Bharti Group’s mobile telephonynetwork covers 56 percent …

HERNDON, Va.—Teligent Inc.’s lenders have agreed to resurrect and fund the company under a new name and business plan. In November it seemed the bankrupt local multipoint distribution services carrier …

SEATTLE—Canada’s Bell Mobility announced it will offer a service through ViAir Inc. that will allow mobile professionals to wirelessly access their personal and corporate e-mail, calendar and contact information. The …

NEW YORK—Millicom International Cellular S.A. has been awarded a nationwide GSM license in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos). MIC will work with the Committee for Investment and Co-operation, the …

HELSINKI—Nokia Corp. reported decreased profits for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, but increased sales for the year, helped along by an increase in worldwide mobile-phone market share, which now …

MANILA, Phillipines—Short message service (SMS) technology remains a dominant force in the growth of data services in Asia, despite the availability of more advanced technologies, such as the Wireless Application …

MOSCOW—The second-biggest Russian carrier Vimpelcom (BeeLine) is reportedly negotiating a US$250 million credit with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to finance regional expansion. The carrier initially said …

OXFORD, United Kingdom—Having planned to capitalize on the booming short message service (SMS) market by increasing its messaging charges by nearly 140 percent, Germany’s T-Mobile has backed down after a …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—The privatization of the Paraguayan fixed telephony monopoly, which includes a personal communications services (PCS) license, will likely be postponed. The privatization was initially scheduled to take place …

TOKYO—Kyocera, a leading telecom vender in Japan, and Hanaro Telecom, a leading carrier in Korea, reached an agreement regarding the next-generation high-speed mobile data business, Kyocera announced on 22 January. …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Zimbabwean telecommunications company TeleAccess is reported to be involved in negations to purchase Telecel International, the mobile network operator with services in 13 African countries including Zimbabwe. TeleAccess …

WOODBURY, New York, United States—Dutch wireless carrier Dutchtone, a subsidiary of Orange Group, continued to flesh out its wireless music service by purchasing Comverse’s VoiCD music portal product. Comverse said …

LONDON—Vodafone Group reported its Greek wireless subsidiary, Panafon-Vodafone, officially changed its name to Vodafone. Panafon adopted the dual-brand name a year ago as part of the Vodafone global brand migration …

DENVER, United States—The government of Slovakia announced a tender to sell three third-generation (3G) mobile telephone licenses by mid-year for around US$31.6 million each through a “beauty contest,” according to …

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—The development of the pan-Russian Megafon project of St. Petersburg-based Telecominvest holding has prompted a series of acquisitions, as the initially “virtual” project reported 1 million clients in …

NEW YORK—Emblaze Systems said it has concluded successfully an MPEG4 compliance interoperability test with Samsung Electronics. The companies conducted the trial to determine whether Emblaze’s wireless media platform is interoperable …

SEOUL, South Korea— Yasuo Nishiguchi, Kyocera’s chief executive, said his company will settle its patent dispute with Nortel Networks without rancor. “We have violated some of Nortel’s technology patents, and …

LONDON—Vodafone Group said it has signed up more than 100 million customers to its networks in 28 countries, underlining its position as the world’s largest wireless operator. “Vodafone has increased …

SCHAUMBERG, Illinois, United States—Motorola reported significant, but not surprising, losses for the fourth quarter and year ended 31 December, 2001, a year Christopher Galvin, Motorola chairman and chief executive officer, …

MOSCOW—The biggest Russian carrier Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) officially confirmed it has reached an agreement on the purchase of a controlling stake in the fourth-biggest regional carrier Kuban GSM in the …

HONG KONG—Software solution provider iMerchants and Diversinet have partnered to make iMerchants’ wireless banking solution for personal digital assistants (PDAs) available with Diversinet’s Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) security technology. Diversinet’s …

BEIJING—Only five of the 19 authorized vendors of CDMA handsets in China have released their models on the Chinese market. The latest was Datang, which launched its DT618 handset priced …